What to Know
President Donald Trump on Friday lashed out at a reporter who asked about the $10 billion lawsuit he filed against the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department this week. ABC News White House correspondent Karen Travers asked Trump about the unprecedented legal action after he signed several Executive Orders in the Oval Office.
“Mr. President, why are you suing your own administration and the IRS?” Travers asked.
In response, Trump asked what media outlet she was with. “ABC News,” Travers said. “You’re a loud person. Very loud. Let somebody else have a chance,” Trump said.
While Travers asked Trump to answer the question, he continued speaking over her. “ABC fake news. I didn’t call on you,” he said. “ABC by the way is truly one of the worst.”
Trump did not receive another question about the lawsuit after dismissing Travers’ inquiry.
The suit, filed Thursday in the Southern District of Florida, accuses the IRS and Treasury Department of allowing his tax information to be leaked to news outlets during his first term and seeks $10 billion in damages.
Trump’s hostile history with reporters
Trump has a long track record of launching attacks on reporters, and has notably insulted the personal appearance and intelligence of several women who cover the White House.
In November, Trump accosted a female journalist who asked him about Jeffrey Epstein during a press scrum aboard Air Force One. “Quiet! Quiet, piggy,” the president said.
Later that month, Trump said that New York Times reporter Katie Rogers was “ugly, both inside and out” after she co-authored a story with the headline: “Shorter Days, Signs of Fatigue: Trump Faces Realities of Aging in Office.”
And in December, Trump called CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins “stupid and nasty” in a social media post.
The White House has characterized Trump’s outbursts as his “honest” defense against the “fake news.”
“Look, the President is very frank and honest with everyone in this room,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during her Nov. 20 briefing. “And I think it’s one of the many reasons that the American people reelected this president because of his frankness.
“And he calls out fake news when he sees it. He gets frustrated with reporters when you lie about him, when you spread fake news about him and his administration.”
Nick Moyle; nj.com; (TNS) | ©2026 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit nj.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
