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President Donald Trump went after another female reporter this week, and honestly, the pattern is getting harder to ignore. During a Friday exchange aboard Air Force One, Washington Post reporter Natalie Allison asked a straightforward question about his MAGA base’s expectations regarding deportation policy. His response? Personal attacks about her publication’s readership and her “very bad attitude.”
The timing couldn’t be more cruel. The Washington Post just went through brutal layoffs, and here’s the President of the United States using that pain as a weapon. Allison was doing her job, asking about legitimate concerns from his own supporters. But instead of addressing the substance, Trump went straight for the jugular.
The Smile Police
Just days earlier, Trump had targeted CNN’s Kaitlan Collins in an even stranger exchange. After she asked about justice for victims of Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender, Trump called her “the worst reporter” and then launched into a bizarre commentary about her facial expressions.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile,” he told Collins. “I’ve known you for 10 years. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smile on your face. You know why you’re not smiling? Because you know you’re not telling the truth.”
Let that sink in for a moment. A reporter asks about accountability for sex trafficking victims, and the president responds by policing her facial expressions. What does smiling have to do with journalism? Since when did looking cheerful become a prerequisite for asking tough questions?
A Pattern You Can’t Ignore
This isn’t new territory for Trump. The list of female journalists he’s attacked keeps growing. He’s berated a CNN reporter for asking what he deemed a “stupid question.” He asked a CBS News White House correspondent if she was “a stupid person.” And in perhaps the most degrading instance, he attacked a Bloomberg reporter with the words “Quiet, piggy.”
Notice the pattern here? These aren’t just disagreements about news coverage or policy disputes. These are personal, often gendered attacks designed to humiliate and diminish. When male reporters ask difficult questions, they might get called “fake news.” When women do it, they’re told they have bad attitudes, questioned about their intelligence, or compared to animals.
The defense is always the same. Trump claims his base “has never been stronger” and that people “couldn’t be more thrilled” with his administration. He pivots to boasting about accomplishments. But the question remains unanswered. The reporter gets smeared. The business of holding power accountable gets harder.
What This Means for Press Freedom
Independent journalism exists to ask uncomfortable questions. That’s literally the job description. When a president consistently responds to female journalists with personal insults rather than substantive answers, it sends a chilling message. Not just to those specific reporters, but to every woman considering a career in journalism.
You can disagree with how a question is framed. You can challenge the premise. You can even decline to answer. But turning a policy question into a personal attack reveals something deeper than media strategy. It reveals contempt for the very idea that power should be questioned at all.
The irony is thick. Trump defends his MAGA base as “people that love our country,” yet attacks journalists who are exercising one of the country’s most fundamental rights. Freedom of the press isn’t just about being allowed to publish. It’s about being able to ask questions without facing intimidation or degradation.
When reporters like Allison and Collins continue showing up and asking hard questions despite knowing they’ll likely face personal attacks, they’re not being adversarial. They’re being professional. Maybe the question we should be asking is why anyone would expect them to smile while doing it.
