Trump calls ABC’s Rachel Scott, a Black reporter, ‘obnoxious’ for asking about Pentagon scandal

Trump continues his pattern of berating female journalists.

President Donald Trump lashed out at a female reporter yet again on Monday (Dec. 8), this time at a journalist he’s very familiar with.

ABC News’ Rachel Scott, who interviewed Trump during a contentious panel at the 2024 National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago, inquired about the recent scandal involving the Pentagon, a controversial strike involving a boat from Venezuela allegedly carrying drugs.

When Scott asked if the Pentagon or the White House would release the full video of the attack, Trump took issue with the question.

“Are you committed to releasing the full video?” Scott asked.

Trump fired back, “Didn’t I just tell you that? You are the most obnoxious reporter in the whole place. Let me just tell you, you are an obnoxious– a terrible reporter. And it’s always the same thing with you. I told you, whatever Pete Hegseth wants to do is OK with me.”

Trump to ABC's Rachel Scott: "You are the most obnoxious reporter in the whole place. Let me just tell you — you are an obnoxious– a terrible reporter. And it's always the same thing with you. I told you." pic.twitter.com/3GcH2FaKB3— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 8, 2025

Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have come under scrutiny in recent weeks after allegations surfaced that a second strike aimed at killing two survivors of the initial boat strike while they floated in the ocean could be determined as a war crime if it was ordered with the sole purpose of killing them.

When asked by ABC News correspondent Selina Wang on Dec. 3, Trump told her that the administration would release “whatever they have, no problem” regarding the strike.

The president has had several back-and-forth spats with female reporters in recent weeks, from CNN’s Kaitlan Collins to labeling Bloomberg’s Catherine Lucey as “piggy” when she asked him about the Epstein files.

Trump’s issues with ABC News date back several years but have amplified recently. On Nov. 18, he called on ABC News’ Mary Bruce, who attempted to ask a question about Jeffrey Epstein but was immediately rebuffed.

“You know, it’s not the question that I mind. It’s your attitude,” Trump told Bruce. “I think you are a terrible reporter. It’s the way you ask these questions…”

“You’re a terrible person and a terrible reporter,” he said at other points in his lengthy response. “I think the license should be taken away from ABC because your news is so fake and is so wrong. And we have a great commissioner, a chairman, who should look at that.”