A transcript from Monday’s freewheeling press conference, which was previously altered to cover up a line in which President Donald Trump criticized a reporter, has been restored to its original form.
Earlier on Tuesday, The White House had changed the word “thinking” to “thanking” in the transcript, blunting the insult the President aimed at ABC’s Cecilia Vega.
According to the Daily Beast, the recorded moment where he says: “I know you’re not thinking. You never do” is changed to “I know you’re not thanking. You never do.”
When Trump first called on her, he joked: “She’s shocked that I picked her, she’s in a state of shock.”
As she got her bearings with her notes she responded: “I’m not — thank you, Mr. President” which he apparently mistook as “I’m not thinking, Mr. President,” prompting the insult.
Trump tells ABC News' senior White House correspondent @CeciliaVega "I know you're not thinking, you never do," then refuses to answer a question about Brett Kavanaugh. pic.twitter.com/mOGh228g5a
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) October 1, 2018
At the moment, his comment visibly took Vega by surprise before she asked “excuse me?” and he brushed her off and brusquely told her to continue. He then declined to answer her question.
Trump was notably terse and ill-tempered with female reporters at the press conference, even after the exchange with Vega.
