Trump’s outburst stemmed from two incidents: one concerning his White House reception on Tuesday of Saudi Crown Prince Salman, who is considered responsible for the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi; and the other concerning his long-delayed release of the Epstein files.
When asked about the Epstein files aboard Air Force One, President Trump angrily stated he knew nothing about the sex crimes. A Bloomberg reporter then asked the president, “If there’s no incriminating evidence in the files, why don’t you release the information related to the disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein?”
According to AFP, Trump pointed at the female reporter and said, “Shut up, shut up, you idiot!”
During the White House reception of Crown Prince Salman, an ABC reporter, after discussing whether the Trump family business had a conflict of interest with Saudi business networks, further questioned Crown Prince Salman about his involvement in the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Trump denied any conflict of interest with the Saudi royal family, then defended his guest, Salman, saying the crown prince “knew nothing about it.” Trump rebuked the reporter, saying, “You don’t have to ask questions that embarrass our guests.” The reporter asked the president again a few minutes later about the Epstein affair, when Trump interrupted him, calling him a “terrible reporter.”
(This article is excerpted from Radio France Internationale.)
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