Donald Trump took aim at New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman after she published a story claiming the president planned to skip a 9/11 memorial service at Ground Zero because he would be unable to give a speech.
“Maggot Hagerman, the Fake Reporter from The Failing New York Times, an unattractive person both inside and out, and who knows less about me than most reporters on the beat,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Friday afternoon, “(She’s a SCAMMER!), made up a story that on September 11th, I’m not going to the World Trade Center, in New York City, because they won’t let me make a speech, and I’m going to the Pentagon in D.C., because I’m a featured speaker.”
As the president continued, he blasted the report, which was also written by the Times’ Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Dana Rubinstein and Sally Goldenberg, as “more corrupt news” from the outlet.
“I’ve been to New York many times over the years, and no one ever speaks, it’s a ‘solemn ceremony,’” he said. “I never even thought of what Maggot made up, and besides, I would love not to speak, because I’m speaking all the time, and this is a day to remember the victims, and their beautiful family members.”
Trump then further attacked Haberman, who made headlines earlier this year for the book she co-authored with Jonathan Swan, “Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump,” which took a closer look at his unrestrained use of executive power in his second term. While Haberman’s reporting work has previously received widespread critical acclaim, including a Pulitzer Prize in 2018, Trump declared the journalist “a phony,” adding that “The New York Times knows it!”
“It will all be revealed in the lawsuit against them, and another lawsuit against the organization which gives out the now discredited Pulitzer Prize, because Maggie got one for her ‘reporting’ on THE RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA HOAX, which turned out to be a total CON JOB,” he added. “If she were ever forced to reveal her ‘sources,’ you will find out they either don’t exist, or didn’t say what she reported. She’s been falsely writing about me for years — She’s a stalker, and should be forced to turn over any and all money that she’s made through her fake reporting on me.”
This is not the first time the New York Times has been caught in Trump’s crosshairs, as the president sued the publication in September for $15 billion over unfavorable coverage of him ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
At the time, a Times spokesperson defended that the suit had “no merit,” noting, “It lacks any legitimate legal claims and instead is an attempt to stifle and discourage independent reporting.”
“The New York Times will not be deterred by intimidation tactics,” the statement continued. “We will continue to pursue the facts without fear or favor and stand up for journalists’ First Amendment right to ask questions on behalf of the American people.”
Not long after, Judge Merryday, a George H.W. Bush appointee, struck down the lawsuit and said the nearly 90-page lawsuit was “not a protected platform to rage against an adversary.”
“A complaint is not a megaphone for public relations or a podium for a
passionate oration at a political rally or the functional equivalent of the Hyde Park
Speakers’ Corner,” the judge wrote at the time. The judge gave Trump’s attorneys 28 days to file an amended lawsuit, which was refiled in October of 2025.
In July, a federal judge deferred the New York Times’ motion to dismiss the defamation lawsuit and ruled Trump could file an amended complaint before the court considers the motion.
In addition to the Times, Trump has sued the Wall Street Journal, BBC, CBS News, ABC News and The Des Moines Register in the last two years. He’s also called out a number of female reporters since his second term began in January 2025, including Kristen Holmes, Kaitlan Collins, Kristen Welker, Catherine Lucey, Jessica Tarlov and Shannon Bream.
A representative for the New York Times did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
