President Trump erupted at a reporter in the Oval Office on Tuesday, calling him a “sick person” after being pressed with a series of questions.
Trump had gathered reporters to announce a new $25 million initiative designed to encourage Americans to report fraud.
Standing alongside Vice President JD Vance, influencer Nick Shirley and Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Trump concluded his remarks and invited questions.
Andrew Feinberg, The Independent’s White House correspondent, was among the first to speak.
The question immediately appeared to anger the president, who launched into a heated response.
“Listen to you. Hey, I’m not pointing. You better, you better, I don’t know who the hell you are, but you better be careful,” Trump said, speaking over Feinberg.
“What’s wrong with you? Are you a sick person? I actually think there’s something wrong with you,” Trump continued.
Footage of the exchange quickly spread across social media, with viewers focusing on Trump’s visible irritation and confrontational tone.
President Donald Trump snapped at Andrew Feinberg, The Independent’s White House correspondent, during a Tuesday afternoon Oval Office exchange, telling him, “I actually think there’s something wrong with you.”
The heated exchange unfolded as reporters competed to have their questions answered after Trump opened the event to the press.
After Trump criticized the reporter in the Oval Office, Vice President JD Vance joined the attack online, calling Feinberg an “imbecile.”
“Sticks and stones, I’m just doing my job,” Feinberg told Our News Outlet.
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Not long after the exchange, administration communications teams began circulating clips of Trump’s rebuke alongside sharply worded personal attacks.
The White House rapid-response account accused Feinberg of “disgraceful behavior” and used a highly offensive racist slur to describe him.
Vance also posted about the confrontation on X, writing: “President Donald J. Trump eviscerates imbecile ‘journalist’ Andrew Feinberg for misbehaving in the Oval Office.”
“Mr. Vice President, if you’re going to insult me at least have the guts to tag my account,” Feinberg replied.
The clash marked another public dispute between Feinberg and Vance.
In May, Vance filled in for then-Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt while she was on maternity leave and accused Feinberg of delivering a speech rather than asking an impartial question during a White House briefing.
“Come on, man! Have a little bit of objectivity in the way that you ask these questions because there were a lot of things in that speech masquerading as a question that didn’t actually get asked,” Vance said at the time.
The confrontation rapidly became a social media sensation, fueled by Trump’s visible frustration and fiery exchange with the reporter.
The clash is the latest evidence of the administration’s brash approach to the press.
Last month, the White House banned CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, alleging they maliciously peddle ‘fake news.’
However, the outlets have sued to regain their access, and the judge presiding over the case has repeatedly sided with the media organizations by forcing Trump to at times pause his White House ban on the outlets.
Last week, the federal judge granted the news outlets a preliminary injunction against the White House ban as the case moves forward through the legal system.
