Trump snaps at Independent reporter Andrew Feinberg, asking, “Are you a sick person?” during an Oval Office exchange
US President Donald Trump snapped at a reported in the Oval Office on Tuesday (local time), repeatedly telling him to be “quiet” before asking, “What’s wrong with you? Are you a sick person?”The exchange took place during an event where Trump and Vice President JD Vance discussed a new whistleblower programme offering rewards of up to $30,000 for reporting alleged fraud.The Independent reporter Andrew Feinberg questioned the rationale behind the proposal, pointing out that an existing law already allows whistleblowers to receive a share of funds recovered by the government.According to Feinberg’s account in The Independent, Trump responded to his question by saying, “Because it’s a lot of money.”As he appeared to begin asking about changes to East Potomac Park, which include a new golf course, saying, “On the golf course, sir, you own a lot of golf cour—”“Wait, wait, wait, wait,” Trump interrupted before telling the reporter, “Quiet, quiet.”“What’s wrong with you? Are you a sick person?” Trump asked. “Not that I know of, sir,” Feinberg replied.Feinberg said Vance intervened during the exchange, calling his question “dishonest” and arguing that certain types of fraud fell outside the scope of the False Claims Act. Trump then asked the reporter, “Who are you?” despite Feinberg having identified himself earlier.Vice President JD Vance later took a swipe at Feinberg on X, sharing a clip of the exchange and writing: “President Donald J Trump eviscerates imbecile ‘journalist’ Andrew Feinberg for misbehaving in the Oval Office:”
Responding to Vance’s post, Feinberg said, “if you’re going to insult me at least have the guts to tag my account.”Trump has frequently clashed with journalists during his two terms in office.