President Donald Trump berated a reporter for implying that the president had agreed to receive an improper gift from the country of Qatar.
Trump was signing an executive order at the Oval Office on Monday when an ABC News reporter asked him about the announcement that the ruling family of Qatar planned on gifting a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet to use as his presidential airplane.
‘You should know better, because you’ve been embarrassed enough and so has your network!’
“What do you say to people who view that luxury jet as a personal gift to you?” asked Rachel Scott.
“You’re ABC Fake News, right? … You should be embarrassed asking that question!” said the president defiantly.
Trump then indicated that paying Qatar for the gift would be stupid. “They’re giving us a free jet,” he explained. “I could say, ‘No, I want to pay you $1 billion,’ or I could say, ‘Thank you.’”
Scott pressed on, and the president denied the allegations more forcefully.
“It’s not a gift to me. It’s a gift to the Department of Defense, and you should know better, because you’ve been embarrassed enough and so has your network,” he added. “Your network is a disaster. ABC is a disaster.”
Critics of the president have said the gift could be seen as a bribe, but the White House claimed it sought legal advice that said there was nothing improper about the gift. The Emoluments Clause of the Constitution bars anyone holding public office from receiving a gift from foreign states without congressional consent.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) released a statement criticizing the present.
“Nothing says ‘America First’ like Air Force One, brought to you by Qatar,” he wrote. “It’s not just bribery, it’s premium foreign influence with extra legroom.”
The president had a previous run-in with Rachel Scott when she moderated an interview of Trump with a panel of the National Association of Black Journalists in 2024.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner. The first question. You don’t even say, ‘Hello, how are you?’” he said to Scott over a contentious question she asked him. “Are you with ABC? Because I think they’re a fake news network. A terrible network.”
Here’s the video of the exchange:
Trump smacks down a reporter: “You’re ABC Fake News. You should be embarrassed asking that question.” pic.twitter.com/GZYJZ2uMxq
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) May 12, 2025
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The post Trump rips into reporter for implying Qatar gift is a bribe: ‘You should be embarrassed asking that question!’ appeared first on TheBlaze.
