Donald Trump lashes out at reporter for Epstein question

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U.S. President Donald Trump called on ABC’s broadcast licence to be revoked while also calling a reporter “a terrible person and a terrible reporter” after she asked him about the Jeffrey Epstein files and his family’s business.

“Mr. President, why wait for Congress to release the Epstein files, why not just do it now?” ABC News’ White House correspondent Mary Bruce asked Trump, who was meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

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The question immediately set Trump off.

“It’s not the question that I mind, it’s your attitude,” said Trump, who then called the question “terrible” before later going on the defensive.

“You start off with a man who’s highly respected, asking him a horrible, insubordinate and just a terrible question.

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‘I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein’

“As far as the Epstein files … I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. I threw him out of my club many years ago because I thought he was a sick pervert, and I guess I turned out to be right,” Trump said, while mentioning Bill Clinton and former Harvard University president Larry Summers, whose relationship with Epstein has in recent days come under intense scrutiny.

“Larry Summers who ran Harvard, was with him every single night, every single weekend. They lived together, they went to his island many times. I never did,” Trump alleged. “All these guys were friends of his. You don’t even talk about those guys. You just keep going on (about) the Epstein files.”

Bruce also asked about allegations of inappropriate Middle East deal-making by Trump’s family business.

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Media reports have highlighted deals being discussed between the Trump Organization and Saudi partners, including a luxury resort development in the Maldives.

He eventually pointed at Bruce: “No more questions from you.”

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Epstein files closer to becoming public

The latest clash came after the president called another female reporter “piggy” last week when she asked about Epstein.

U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday voted in favour of making the Epstein files public. The president said he will sign the bill if it passes the Senate.

Epstein, a billionaire financier, died by suicide in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial in 2019 on charges he sexually abused and trafficked underage girls.

Trump on Tuesday called the Epstein files a “Democrat hoax” and added, “ABC, your crappy company, is one of the perpetrators. I think the licence should be taken away from ABC because your news is so fake and it’s so wrong.”

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