Leaked audio recordings revealed that former President Donald Trump reportedly grabbed an NBC reporter’s phone and demanded his removal from the aircraft after being questioned about the ongoing criminal investigation during an informal press briefing.
What Happened: The intense exchange between Trump and the NBC reporter took place on March 25, after the conclusion of the ex-president's campaign rally in Texas, as first reported by Vanity Fair.
During informal press talks on his plane, the front-running Republican candidate for the 2024 U.S. presidential election was asked by NBC News reporter Vaughn Hillyard if Trump appeared “frustrated” by the ongoing investigation by Manhattan DA Alvin Brag.
Trump became agitated by the statement and told the reporter to refrain from posing “any more questions” on the matter.
“I'm not frustrated by anything,” Trump replied, according to a recording obtained by the Washington Post.
“What am I, frustrated? I just did a speech for two hours. I'm not frustrated by it. It's a fake investigation. We did nothing wrong. I told you that. … It's the exact opposite. This is fake news, and NBC is one of the worst at it. Don't ask me any more questions,” he said.
Hillyard reportedly tried to ask Trump another question about Bragg’s investigation nearly half-hour after the first conversation, to which Trump replied, “I don't want to talk to you. You're not a nice guy.”
According to a familiar source, Trump became increasingly irritated as Hillyard continued asking his question. The former U.S. leader grabbed the journalist’s two phones from the table before him, flung them to the side in frustration, and shouted, “get him out of here.”
Why It Matters: Trump's campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung denied the occurrence and said that “no negative incidents” involving reporters ever took place on his plane.
The incident took place before Trump was indicted and later arraigned in New York City for allegedly falsifying business records related to hush-money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016.
Trump, the leading Republican candidate in the upcoming presidential election, has called the investigation “Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history.”
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This illustration was generated using artificial intelligence via MidJourney.
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