Donald Trump tells ABC's Jonathan Karl he'll 'probably go after' him and network over 'hate in your heart'
Trump made the alarming statement outside the White House, after his representatives previously told EW that shows like "The View" are under scrutiny as well.
President Donald Trump gave an intimidating statement to ABC News journalist Jonathan Karl, telling the political reporter that he'll "probably go after" him and ABC over alleged "hate" against the Trump administration.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday outside the White House, Trump responded to Karl's inquiry about Attorney General Pam Bondi's spoken intentions to "go after hate speech" in the country, one week after controversial far-right conservative Charlie Kirk was fatally shot at a speaking event in Utah.
"We'll probably go after people like you because you treat me so unfairly. It's hate. You have a lot of hate in your heart," Trump told Karl, who immediately asked Trump if such a move would be appropriate for a sitting president to mount against a member of the press.
Trump then brought up a 2024 development that saw ABC News agree to pay $15 million toward his presidential library to settle a defamation suit after George Stephanopoulos alleged on air Trump was found "civilly liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll," as the Associated Press recounted.
"Your company paid me $16 million for a form of hate speech," Trump said. "So, maybe they'll have to go after you."
The politician and former reality star said "we want everything to be fair" and that "it hasn't been fair" for him in the public sphere.
"And the radical left has done tremendous damage to the country, but we're fixing it. We have right now the hottest country anywhere in the world," Trump claimed. "Remember, one year ago, our country was dead, and now Washington, D.C. is fixed and I fixed it!"
He finished the sentiment by urging Karl to take his wife to "have dinner now that you won't be shot" in the nation's capital.
Entertainment Weekly has reached out to ABC representatives for comment.
Trump's words came after the representatives for the White House and other government bodies have spoken out against various pop culture entities, including Late Show host Stephen Colbert and The View's panel of commentators.
In July, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers told EW that longtime View star Joy Behar is "an irrelevant loser suffering from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. In response to Behar's on-air assessment that Trump was jealous of Barack Obama, Rogers added that the 82-year-old comedian "should self-reflect on her own jealousy of President Trump’s historic popularity before her show is the next to be pulled off air."
In response to the statement to EW, Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr told Fox News that he feels there might be "consequences" for The View cohosts that "aren't quite finished," as the panelists have largely criticized the Trump administration. |
