What to Know
Lately, President Donald Trump has been increasingly critical of the female reporters who challenge him. Earlier this month, he said, “Quiet, piggy,” to Bloomberg White House correspondent Catherine Lucey. Then, after the New York Times published an article about how he’s aging, he called journalist Katie Rogers “ugly.”
While it can be hard to understand exactly what’s going through Trump’s head, his niece Mary Trump recently psychoanalyzed him on her podcast. From her perspective, it’s pretty clear that the pressure has been getting to him.
She thinks he’s “rattled.”
During Mary Trump Live, Mary, 60, addressed the recent incidents in which Trump criticized female reporters for doing their jobs. Of course, his recent insults suggest that he’s “comfortable” being “openly misogynistic,” she argued. But they also show that people’s opinions seem to be affecting him more than he’d like to admit.
When criticizing the New York Times reporter on Truth Social, Trump also boasted about what he’s achieved. He claimed that the country is “respected again” because of him and said he has his “highest Poll Numbers, ever” (though recent reports suggest otherwise). So, while he tries to make it seem like he’s pretty confident in what he’s doing, Mary thinks the criticism has clearly been bothering him lately.
“His misogynistic attacks against reporters in particular are increasing and that means a couple of things,” she said. “It means that he’s increasingly comfortable lodging such attacks, as he’s been openly misogynistic, as he’s been openly racist and openly Islamophobic and openly anti-immigrant and openly antisemitic. There’s no hiding it anymore.”
But she also thinks there’s more to it than that. “I think it’s also a sign that he’s a little rattled. He’s also never clearly heard of the Streisand effect,” she said. “When you call attention to the thing you want people to ignore, it’s probably a terrible idea.” (The Streisand effect refers to a phenomenon in which someone tries to hide or censor something and ends up drawing more attention to it instead).
A day after Mary shared her theory, the president criticized yet another reporter.
On Thursday, November 27 at Mar-a-Lago, CBS News chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes challenged Trump’s claims about how suspected shooter Rahmanullah Lakanwal “came in unvetted” under the Biden administration.
The reporter pointed out that the Trump administration previously claimed there was “thorough vetting” for Afghan nationals who entered the United States. She questioned why he blamed the Biden administration. Per Reuters, Lakanwal entered the country in 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome. This year, he was granted asylum by the Trump administration.
In response, Trump called the reporter “stupid.” “Because they let them in,” he said. “Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person? Because they came in on a plane, along with thousands of other people that shouldn’t be here, and you’re just asking questions, because you’re a stupid person.”
