On November 18, 2025, with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman seated beside him in the Oval Office, Donald Trump was asked the following question by an ABC News reporter:
Mr. President, why wait for congress to release the Epstein files? Why not just do it now?
Trump responded by saying:
You know, it's not the question that I mind, it's your attitude. I think you're a terrible reporter. It's the way you ask these questions. You start off with a man who's highly respected, asking about a horrible insubordinate, and just a terrible question. And, you could even ask that same question nicely. You're all psyched...somebody sent you over from ABC...you're gonna psyche. Uh, you're a terrible person and a terrible reporter.
After launching into a speech about Jeffrey Epstein's ties to Democrats, Trump then said:
Your company, your crappy company is one of the perpetrators [of the "Democrat hoax" regarding Epstein]. I'll tell you something. I think the license should be taken away from ABC, because your news is so fake, and it's so wrong. And we have a great commissioner, chairman [referring to Brendan Carr], who should look at that because I think that when you come in and you're 97% negative to Trump, and then Trump wins the election in a landslide, that means, obviously, your news is not credible, and you're not credible as a reporter
Source:
(November 18, 2025). "'You're a terrible person and a...". YouTube/Komo News. Retrieved 2025-11-24.
Metzger, Bryan. (November 18, 2025). "Trump says ABC's license should be revoked after reporter's Epstein files question". Business Insider. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
Commentary:
The "attitude" of the reporter Trump referred to was non-existent. Don't believe me? Watch the video and judge for yourself.
Trump used "attitude" as an excuse to launch into a tirade about the Democrat "hoax" regarding the Epstein files and his distaste for ABC News.
This was quintessential Trump, seeing an opportunity to chastise, vilify, and intimidate someone (and some organization) he doesn't agree with.
Going into a tirade about Democrats and Epstein was bad enough, but to say that ABC News should lose their license, and that the commissioner should "look" at doing it is something a dictator would say.
Just because Trump doesn't agree with ABC News is not an excuse, or a premise, or any reason whatsoever to cancel their license to broadcast. If Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission Brendan Carr follows through and does what Trump said, it would violate the freedom of speech rights to express opinions and ideas without government interference, granted by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Trump recently said he is not a dictator, but suggesting ABC News should lose their license contradicts what he said.
Trump claims that because ABC News is "97% negative to Trump," and that he won the 2024 presidential election "in a landslide", that means "obviously" ABC News and the reporter are "not credible."
Just because Trump won the election and he doesn't approve of ABC News doesn't, by any stretch of the imagination, mean ABC News and their reporters are "not credible."
Let's not forget that over 75 million people voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. She received 48.34% of the popular vote. (Over 77 million people voted for Trump and he received 49.81% of the popular vote). That's a lot of people who don't share Trump's vision for America. Having differing opinions and views does not equate to "not credible."
This is another glimpse into the warped and deranged mind of Trump. Trump only sees things one way, and anyone or anything that challenges him is cause for him to lash out and go into "attack mode." As I've discussed ad nauseam before, it's Trump's gargantuan ego that makes him this way. Trump has to constantly pump himself up and discredit anyone or anything that threatens his sensitive and fragile ego.
Trump continues to show his "true colors" on a daily basis. As his second term as president progresses, he is getting more and more bold and more and more authoritarian in his actions and his words.