Trump, Angry Over Aging Report, Berates Female Journalist
Super Ugly: Trump, Incensed Over Aging Report, Berates Female Journalist. Again
In yet another reminder of his deeply ingrained hostility toward women in the press, Donald Trump has launched fresh attack against a female journalist after becoming incensed over a detailed report examining his visible signs of aging.
The New York Times piece, “Shorter Days, Signs of Fatigue: Trump Faces Realities of Aging in Office,” co-authored by New York Times White House correspondent Katie Rogers, painted a sober and carefully sourced portrait of a president adapting his schedule to accommodate waning energy, drifting during briefings, and struggling with long days. But rather than simply denying the report with contrary evidence and policy, Trump took to Truth Social with a familiar, gendered fury—calling Rogers a “third-rate reporter” and “ugly inside and out.”
The irony was not lost on critics who have long noted the disconnect between Trump’s relentless fixation on women’s appearance and his own aesthetic disadvantages. But beyond the mockery lies a serious, troubling pattern.
Trump’s attacks on Rogers are part of a long-documented history of misogynistic outbursts against women in media. In 2018, The New York Times published the review, “‘Horseface,’ ‘Lowlife,’ ‘Fat, Ugly’: How the President Demeans Women,” cataloging years of insults in which Trump mocked women comparing them to animals, or reducing their professional contributions to their appearance. Seven years later, the behavior has not only continued—it has escalated.
Last week, after facing questioning from ABC News White House correspondent Mary Bruce about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and the Epstein scandal, Trump replied: “It’s not the question that I mind. It’s your attitude. I think you are a terrible reporter – it’s the way you ask these questions,” adding “You’re a terrible person and a terrible reporter.”
Just days before his attack on Rogers, Trump referred to a Bloomberg reporter as “piggy” aboard Air Force One, a snipe the White House later claimed was simply Trump “calling out fake news.” The administration’s continued defense underscores how normalized this language has become within Trump’s inner circle.
Charlie Stadtlander, a spokesperson for the paper, defended its journalists.
“The Times’s reporting is accurate and built on first hand reporting of the facts. Name-calling and personal insults don’t change that, nor will our journalists hesitate to cover this administration in the face of intimidation tactics like this,” he said in a statement. “Expert and thorough reporters like Katie Rogers exemplify how an independent and free press helps the American people better understand their government and its leaders.”
The President’s misogyny is also sharply contrasted by his behavior toward powerful male leaders. As he insults female journalists with cartoonish venom, he simultaneously tiptoes around the demands of authoritarian men abroad. His interactions with foreign adversaries including Vladimir Putin and the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia have similarly been marked not by confrontation but by accommodation, with Trump pushing peace plans that lean heavily toward their interests over Americans.
Trump’s fixation on physical strength and masculine bravado is nothing new. In a resurfaced interview, Trump explained why he disliked playing football contributing that being tackled too hard was the reason for he dislike for playing the game:
“I didn’t like it. I played tight… tight end. I could catch the ball good, but I didn’t particularly like having some guy who was lifting weights all day long and came from a bad neighborhood and he sees me… they were tackling hard.”
The comment, riddled with racist undertones, reinforces what many have pointed out, Trump’s bravado collapses when faced with men he cannot bully.
As Trump’s aging becomes increasingly difficult to conceal, the attacks on women appear to be serving as a desperate distraction and a political reflex rooted in insecurity; but the strategy is wearing thin. Trump’s insults toward Rogers, like so many before her, reveal far more about his overwhelming shortcomings than they do about the women he targets.
SEE ALSO:
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Trump Attacks Free Speech, As Pam Bondi Targets Journalists
Takeaways From Trump’s ‘Insulting’ NABJ Interview
Super Ugly: Trump, Incensed Over Aging Report, Berates Female Journalist. Again was originally published on newsone.com
