President Donald Trump’s disgusting treatment and disrespect of the free press continues despite the fact that he should be trying to get all the positive coverage he can get ahead of midterm elections.
Earlier today, Trump spoke to reporters in the Oval Office and took on quite the bitter attitude when members of the press asked him about U.S.-Saudi relations after the alleged murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
Trump stated that he’s “not giving cover” to the Saudis, and talked about Mike Pompeo’s travels to Saudi Arabia and Turkey in order to address the disappearance of Khashoggi. But when reporters asked Trump why he wouldn’t just send the FBI to find out what had happened to Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate of Istanbul, Trump snapped and got nasty. He said:
Well, he’s not an American citizen, and you don’t know if we have [sent the FBI] or haven’t.”
As he continued to speak to reporters, the president’s entire attitude could be summed up in one venomous response:
Why would I tell you?”
During the press spray, the president was also asked if he’d demanded audio and video intelligence about the Saudi Arabian journalist. Trump said:
We have asked for if it exists. I’m not sure yet that it exists, probably does, possibly does.”
You can watch Trump become aggressive with reporters below:
Asked by a reporter whether he has sent the FBI to investigate the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, President Trump responds, “I’m not going to tell you. Why would I tell you?” pic.twitter.com/Rt6h92yo9G
— Axios (@axios) October 17, 2018
Trump’s responses are likely a defense, as he’s just given an interview where he stated he didn’t want to blame Saudi Arabia for Khashoggi’s disappearance until there was more evidence. Trump is receiving widespread criticism for not being tougher on Saudi Arabia, and it’s clearly getting to the president.
Featured image via screen capture
