A female New York Times reporter was the target of President Donald Trump’s latest attack on Wednesday, after he criticized a story about the realities of his age and declining energy, calling her “ugly, both inside and out.”
The Times reported Tuesday that Trump’s public schedule has shifted later than it was during the same period in his first term, and his appearances have also decreased. The story, penned by reporters Katie Rogers and Dylan Freedman, noted that while “Trump and the people around him still talk about him as if he is the Energizer Bunny of presidential politics,” “the reality is more complicated.”
“Trump, 79, is the oldest person to be elected to the presidency, and he is aging,” they wrote.
Trump disputed the story in a blistering Truth Social post, saying the “soon to fold New York Times did a hit piece on me that I am perhaps losing my Energy, despite facts that show the exact opposite.”
He saved his cruelest attack line for Rogers, and not the male journalist who co-wrote it. “The writer of the story, Katie Rogers, who is assigned to write only bad things about me, is a third rate reporter who is ugly, both inside and out,” he wrote.
A Times spokesperson said the story was “accurate and built on first hand reporting of the facts.”
“Name-calling and personal insults don’t change that, nor will our journalists hesitate to cover this administration in the face of intimidation tactics like this,” they said in a statement. “Expert and thorough reporters like Katie Rogers exemplify how an independent and free press helps the American people better understand their government and its leaders.”
The Times topped 12 million subscribers in the year’s third quarter as it increased its subscription and ad revenue.
The president has made it a habit of attacking female reporters in recent weeks. He sniped at a Bloomberg News reporter earlier this month for pressing him on the government’s files on Jeffrey Epstein, calling her “piggy.” He also attacked ABC News reporter Mary Bruce last week after she asked Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about the murder of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which U.S. intelligence said the Saudi leader orchestrated.
“I think you are a terrible reporter. It’s the way you ask these questions, you start off with a man who’s highly respected asking him a horrible, insubordinate and just a terrible question, and you could even ask that same exact question nicely,” he said. “You’re a terrible person and a terrible reporter.”
