Trump Gets Particularly Testy With Female Reporters During Presser

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 30 : CNN White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins asks questions of President Donald J. Trump as the press is escorted out after a swearing-in ceremony for the new Secretary of the Department o... WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 30 : CNN White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins asks questions of President Donald J. Trump as the press is escorted out after a swearing-in ceremony for the new Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie in the Oval Office at the White House on Monday, July 30, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images) MORE LESS
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President Donald Trump was noticeably quick to cut off, interrupt or scold female reporters who asked him questions about his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh during a press conference Monday in the Rose Garden.

Before ABC’s Cecilia Vega had a chance to raise her question about Kavanaugh, Trump was immediately combative. After calling on Vega to ask a question, he joked that she was not expecting to get called on.

“She’s shocked that I picked her, she’s in a state of shock,” Trump said. Vega waited to be handed the microphone, and either said “I’m not — thank you, Mr. President” or “I’m not thinking, Mr. President” as she stood up and glanced at her notes. Trump clearly thought she said the latter.

“It’s okay, I know you’re not thinking, you never do,” he said.

“I’m sorry?” Vega said, before Trump prodded her to ask her question, which was about the White House limiting the scope of the FBI investigation into Kavanaugh. Trump then steamrolled her, asking, “what does that have to do with trade?”

He refused to take any questions about Kavanaugh until he spoke more about the new trade deal between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Moments later, Trump scolded CNN’s Kaitlan Collins for attempting to ask a question about the limited scope of the probe. The two sparred briefly, before Collins’ line of questioning was cut off and she was forced to hand the microphone to another reporter who had questions about Trump’s new trade agreement.

“Don’t do that, that’s not nice,” he said.

Trump eventually took both Vega’s and Collins’ questions about Kavanaugh and the FBI probe into allegations of sexual assault against him, but interrupted Collins when he thought her turn was over.

“You’ve had enough,” he said.

While their questions weren’t about Kavanaugh, Trump was brusque with two other female reporters during the presser on Monday.

One woman asked him to clarify the comments he had made about Democrats not being “angels.”

“No, I  think I’ll save it for a book like everybody else and I’ll write it, okay? I’m not giving it to you,” he said.

Trump also asked cut off another female reporter who asked him about the failure to follow through with a ban on bump stocks.

“No, you’re wrong about that,” he said.

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