When Donald Trump ‘Shushed’ a Journalist for Interrupting Him During a Press Conference
Former President Donald Trump is passionately pursuing the path of hopefully securing a position as a candidate for the Republican Party. He’s reportedly performing quite well so far, both financially and in the GOP debates. Trump appears to have honed the skill of keeping an audience actively engaged, given his experience often addressing the public. But, at the same time, he also greatly appreciates when people pay attention to him when he speaks.
In the past, Trump had an altercation with a journalist who interrupted him during a statement. This incident dates back to 2020, when COVID-19 brought the world to a near standstill and Trump was President at the time.
The former President held a press conference to address the various implementations to prevent further spread of the deadly virus. Apart from precautions, Trump also highlighted the measures in place for foreigners entering the United States. During this conference, a reporter, Weijia Jiang from CBS News decided to get a little more information on his preventive measures to curb the virus.
Despite the sexist and racist #TrumpMeltdown, CBS News reporter Weijia Jiang didn’t back down and demanded honesty from Donald Trump.
— Protect Jack Smith ✊ (@DisavowTrump20) May 11, 2020
RETWEET if you stand with @weijia and journalists everywhere as they hold the Trump Administration accountable!#TrumpPressConference pic.twitter.com/dt5MsaJfUO
She began by quoting a claim made by the public as reported by The New York Times: a desire to be warned ahead of time when “the virus was spreading like wildfire instead of holding rallies with thousands of people.” Jiang followed it up by asking Trump for a reason behind the wait through the month of February.
After listening to her, he asked Jiang which publication she worked for, but was ignored on the first try as Jiang continued her question. She asked, “Why did you not have social distancing until March 16th?” After patiently waiting, Trump asked once more, “Who are you with?” and this time she responded with a brief introduction of herself and the media hub she represented.
#2020 #21stCentury President Trump addresses the nation on COVID-19; announces travel ban: In a primetime Oval Office address, President Donald Trump announces a 30-day travel ban on foreign travel to the U.S. from most European countries as COVID-19… https://t.co/dWG1MjmcQF
— Bala Danmeri (@cybereverest) March 11, 2022
On hearing her answer, Trump attempted to explain his actions in “banning China” from entering the United States at the crux of the pandemic. But Jiang corrected him to refer to the people of China as ‘Chinese nationals'; she also pointed out that the people Trump banned were all ‘Chinese-American citizens. As Jiang continued to speak, Trump urged the reporter to take it “nice and easy” and for her to “just relax”.
A small banter between them went on, with each of them desperately attempting to get their points across. But it came to a brief pause when Trump asked Jiang about the statistics concerning the case count and deaths due to COVID-19 when he announced his ban. Without missing a beat, Jiang chimed in while Trump was still making his point, which visibly irritated the then-President.
Stop Airing Trump's Briefings so reporters like Weijia Jiang will not be berated & forced to say "Thank you very much for good judgment" to Donald Trump as the US death toll climbs over 40,000 people. #TrumpOwnsEveryDeath #BoycottTrumpPressBriefings pic.twitter.com/0XOKakWmNV
— Trump Interpreter (@trumpinterprtr) April 20, 2020
He sternly cautions her, “Keep your voice down, please.” At this instruction, she acknowledged him and allowed him to elaborate on the matter. The heated conversation ended with Trump himself revealing the aforementioned statistics and asking her to instead “thank him” for good judgment.
Editor's note: This article was originally published on October 18, 2023. It has since been updated.