Nicolle Wallace slams Trump’s ‘sick’ verbal attacks on women journalists

WASHINGTON, DC: President Trump once again targeted a female journalist with personal insults during a White House interaction, prompting MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace to speak out.

Wallace urged reporters to resist normalizing the verbal attacks Trump has repeatedly directed at women in the media. This episode highlights the ongoing tension between Trump and journalists, particularly female reporters, and raises questions about the responsibilities of the press corps in confronting such behavior.

Donald Trump’s insult toward Rachel Scott

On Monday, December 8, Trump criticized ABC News Rachel Scott after she asked him a question about a video of a controversial September 2 strike on an alleged drug boat, which he had initially promised to release but later recanted.

Trump deferred to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, stating, “Whatever Pete Hegseth wants to do is okay with me.” He then told Scott, “Let me just tell you, you are an obnoxious — a terrible, actually a terrible reporter. And it’s always the same thing with you.”

The incident occurred in the Oval Office, reflecting the president’s continued pattern of publicly demeaning female journalists during official interactions.

Nicolle Wallace’s call to action

Wallace responded to the episode on her show, 'Deadline: White House', emphasizing that the press should “never normalize the verbal violence” Trump consistently directs toward women in the media.

She recounted multiple recent examples of Trump’s insults toward female reporters to underline the severity of the issue. On December 6, he called CNN's Kaitlan Collins “stupid and nasty.” On November 27, he asked CBS journalist Nancy Cordes, “Are you stupid?” and on November 26, described New York Times reporter Katie Rogers as “ugly.”

Wallace further noted that on November 18, Trump called ABC’s Mary Bruce “terrible and insubordinate” and on November 14 told a Bloomberg reporter, “quiet, piggy.”

Describing the situation as “This is sick s***. This is sick. And anyone in the room is in the room to do a job for their viewers or their readers,” Wallace implored the press corps to consider the broader implications of Trump’s attacks. 

She urged journalists to think about whether their sisters, daughters, mothers, sons, husbands, or fathers should do something differently the next time he insults a female journalist. Wallace suggested that the press could either normalize this behavior or act collectively to resist it.

“We’re either going to normalize this and then hear all sorts of prominent people calling women all sorts of names, or the press corps is going to act as one and say, ‘no more,’” she concluded.