President Donald Trump lashed out at 60 Minutes correspondent Norah O’Donnell during a tense exchange after she quoted from the Washington Hilton shooter’s manifesto, which referenced targeting administration officials and mentioned an unnamed “rapist” and “pedophile.” According to Mediaite, the confrontation unfolded after O’Donnell pressed Trump on whether the Saturday night shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner might alter his relationship with the press.
“Look, for whatever reason, we disagree on a lot of subjects,” Trump said, pointing to crime as a key divide.
“I am very strong on crime. It seems like the press isn’t,” Trump said. “It’s not so much the press, but the press plus the Democrats. It’s almost like they are one and the same.”
O’Donnell then introduced excerpts from the gunman’s manifesto, describing it as “a stunning thing to read,” and highlighted language suggesting a motive. She quoted passages in which the shooter described “administrative officials” as targets and declared he would no longer allow a “pedophile, rapist, and traitor” to “coat my hands with his crimes.”
Trump reacted sharply as O’Donnell appeared to launch an attack on the President.
“Well, I was waiting for you to read that, because I knew you would. Because you’re horrible people. Horrible people,” Trump firmly responded. “Yeah, he did write that. I am not a rapist. I didn’t rape anybody.”
When O’Donnell asked whether he believed the remarks were directed at him, Trump clearly corrected her apparent line of thinking saying, “Excuse me — I’m not a pedophile. You read that crap from some sick person.”
Trump then hit back at O’Donnell reminding the host that figures aligned with Democrats had more credible links to Jeffrey Epstein and similar controversies.
“I got associated with all stuff that has nothing to do with me,” Trump declared. “I was totally exonerated. Your friends on the other side of the plate are the ones that were involved with, let’s say, Epstein or other things.”
“You should be ashamed of yourself reading that, because I’m not any of those things” he said, suggesting that he agreed to do this interview knowing the host might try something like this.
O’Donnell attempted to defend reading the words by stating, “these are the words of the gunman,” a justification that sidesteps how amplifying such rhetoric can contribute to the climate behind violence and attempted attacks on Trump.
“Excuse me. Excuse me,” Trump said. “You shouldn’t be reading that on 60 minutes.”