DOS_patos
Unverified Legion of Trill member
As he struggles to come to terms with losing the election, US president Donald Trump has lashed out at a journalist in a bitter tirade at the White House.
On Thursday (local time) Trump took questions from the media for the first time since election day, but didn’t like being confronted with the reality of his loss.
The president renewed baseless claims that “massive fraud” and crooked officials in battleground states cost him the election. He angrily denounced officials in Georgia and Pennsylvania, two key swing states that helped give Democrat Joe Biden the win, as “communists” and “enemies of the state”.
When he was challenged by a reporter over his team’s inability to provide actual evidence for his nonsensical claims, Trump berated him.
Donald Trump has berated reporters at a press conference. Source: Getty
“Don’t talk to me that way,” he snapped at Reuters White House correspondent Jeff Mason.
“You're just a lightweight. Don't talk to me that way. I'm the President of the United States. Don't ever talk to the President that way.”
The nasty exchange was prompted by the president being asked whether he would concede and a subsequent follow-up query pressing for an answer.
Trump said it “would be a mistake” for officials of the country’s electoral college system to formally elect Joe Biden as the next president, which is set to take place in mid December followed by a Senate confirmation on January 6.
When pressed, he said he would leave the White House if that happens, but would not say if he will attend Biden’s inauguration which is customary for outgoing presidents.
“This has a long way to go,” Trump said during the press conference, despite the fact that President-elect Joe Biden was declared the winner weeks ago. “This election was a fraud. It was a rigged election.”
It’s not the first time Trump has attacked the reporter. The president also mocked him for wearing a coronavirus face mask in October.
On Thursday (local time) Trump took questions from the media for the first time since election day, but didn’t like being confronted with the reality of his loss.
The president renewed baseless claims that “massive fraud” and crooked officials in battleground states cost him the election. He angrily denounced officials in Georgia and Pennsylvania, two key swing states that helped give Democrat Joe Biden the win, as “communists” and “enemies of the state”.
When he was challenged by a reporter over his team’s inability to provide actual evidence for his nonsensical claims, Trump berated him.
Donald Trump has berated reporters at a press conference. Source: Getty
“Don’t talk to me that way,” he snapped at Reuters White House correspondent Jeff Mason.
“You're just a lightweight. Don't talk to me that way. I'm the President of the United States. Don't ever talk to the President that way.”
The nasty exchange was prompted by the president being asked whether he would concede and a subsequent follow-up query pressing for an answer.
Trump said it “would be a mistake” for officials of the country’s electoral college system to formally elect Joe Biden as the next president, which is set to take place in mid December followed by a Senate confirmation on January 6.
When pressed, he said he would leave the White House if that happens, but would not say if he will attend Biden’s inauguration which is customary for outgoing presidents.
“This has a long way to go,” Trump said during the press conference, despite the fact that President-elect Joe Biden was declared the winner weeks ago. “This election was a fraud. It was a rigged election.”
It’s not the first time Trump has attacked the reporter. The president also mocked him for wearing a coronavirus face mask in October.