- President Trump reacted angrily to a reporter quoting a suspect’s manifesto.
- Trump denied accusations of being a rapist or pedophile.
- He denounced the reporter for reading from the suspect’s document.
- The exchange highlighted ongoing tensions between Trump and the press.
US President Donald Trump on Sunday lashed out at a reporter during an interview after she quoted from a manifesto allegedly written by the suspected gunman Cole Allen who attempted to storm the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
The interview, recorded at the White House less than 24 hours after the incident, took a confrontational turn when CBS News journalist Norah O’Donnell read aloud a line attributed to the accused gunman.
“I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes,” she read.
Trump, who had maintained a relatively measured tone until that moment, reacted with visible anger.
‘I’m Not a Rapist… I’m Not a Pedophile’
“I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would, because you’re horrible people. Horrible people,” Trump said. “Yeah, he did write that. I’m not a rapist. I didn’t rape anybody.”
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When O’Donnell asked, “Oh, do you think he was referring to you?”, Trump did not directly respond to the question but instead continued forcefully:
“I’m not a pedophile.”
President Denounces ‘Insinuations’
Trump also objected to what he perceived as an implied association with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, although neither the manifesto nor the interviewer mentioned Epstein by name.
“You read that crap from some sick person,” the president said. “I got associated with stuff that has nothing to do with me. I was totally exonerated.”
The exchange came shortly after Trump had been asked whether the shooting scare at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner would change his relationship with the press.
Initially, he responded in general terms, reiterating his view that much of the press corps is politically opposed to his policies, particularly on immigration and crime.
However, his sharp response moments later underscored ongoing tensions.
“You should be ashamed of yourself for reading that, because I’m not any of those things,” Trump said. “You shouldn’t be reading that on ‘60 Minutes.’ You’re a disgrace.”
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Earlier, Trump had struck a more conciliatory tone, noting a sense of shared experience with journalists present at the dinner when law enforcement intervened during the security scare.
The incident, however, quickly gave way to a renewed and public clash between the president and the media, highlighting the fraught relationship that has defined much of his engagement with journalists.
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