President Donald Trump has long displayed a marked hostility toward women journalists who press him with difficult questions.
He interrupts them, talks over their questions, insults them, and otherwise demeans them whenever he feels like it.
And the pattern repeated itself once more during an Oval Office press briefing on Thursday, after PBS White House correspondent Liz Landers pressed Trump on sanctions against Chinese banks.
It began with inquiries into Russia and China’s ongoing commercial ties with Iran. Washington had imposed strict financial sanctions on Tehran in an effort to push the regime toward the negotiating table over reopening the Strait of Hormuz and to pressure an end to Trump’s ongoing campaign against Iran.
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Iran remains heavily reliant on Chinese and Russian markets to sell its oil abroad.
“Will you punish Putin or Russia if they continue,” Landers asked, but Trump cut her off.
“Well, it depends. I believe, so far Russia’s behaved quite well in relation to the Strait of Hormuz, and you have to understand that for everything they do, we do as well,” he began, animated as he spoke.
“Someone who’s talking about China, ‘What about China?’ We hear they’re spying.” We spy on them, too. That’s the way it goes,” an animated Trump insisted, gesturing with his hands and throwing his arms up in the air.
But Landers wasn’t finished, and she didn’t concede an inch.
“Why not sanction Chinese banks, though, who are doing business with Iran?” Landers pressed as Trump interrupted again.
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“Who says I’m not? You said, ‘Why not?’ I mean who said I’m not?” a short-tempered Trump snapped back at Landers.
He continued talking over her, “You don’t know if I’m taking action. I don’t have to announce everything, do I?” he shot back, with a smug edge to his voice.
Social media quickly fired back at him in response.
“Oops. Trump was caught off guard, so naturally he tries to deflect,” quipped one user on X.
Another observed, “He believes the only way to learn something is if he declares it first.”
One commenter employed reverse psychology to illustrate their point.
“Every day he announces things he never actually does. If he isn’t announcing it, he isn’t doing it.”
Yet the online crowd seemed to agree with one poster who summed it up best: “So immature, it’s unreal.”
A few weeks earlier, Trump had scolded CNN correspondent Kristen Holmes over a line of questioning about military exercises with South Korea. The White House then attacked her children on social media.
He has called another female journalist “stupid” recently for asking questions he disliked. He has also commented on CNN’s Kaitlan Collins for not smiling enough.
He instructed Bloomberg News reporter Catherine Lucey to “shut up” last year, barking, “Quiet, Piggy.”
The questions about China’s connections to Iran and its oil exports come as the Justice Department acknowledged on Wednesday, August 26, that Chinese hackers infiltrated a number of U.S. government agencies and other American businesses, according to CNN.
The hacking campaign reportedly began in 2018 and extended into the present year, CNN reported. Affected agencies included the Department of Justice, the Energy Department, the Federal Reserve, NASA, and the Senate.
Other targets encompassed power utilities, hospitals, military networks and defense contractors.
The full extent of the damage remains unknown.
What is clear, however, is that Trump and his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appear reluctant—or at least cautious—to impose sanctions on Chinese banks just yet, out of concern for rekindling trade tensions.
That hesitation is tied to an upcoming visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Washington for a talks with Trump next month.
Meanwhile, Politico reports that Trump has approved sanctions against Chinese refineries, shipping firms, procurement networks, and other actors that help sustain Iran’s illicit economy.
