President Donald Trump rebuked a reporter for interrupting him during a news conference on Thanksgiving Day.
The video: The confrontation between Trump and Reuters White House correspondent Jeff Mason occurred while the president was expanding on his claims that widespread voter fraud threw the election toward Democratic rival Joe Biden.
The spat began after Mason asked whether Trump would concede if the Electoral College voted for Biden, to which Trump replied, “Well if they do, they made a mistake, because this election was a fraud.”
- Mason continued to press the president on whether he would concede, provoking a stern reaction from Trump.
- “Don’t talk to me that way,” he thundered at the reporter, whom he has previously mocked for ostentatious adherence to coronavirus safety guidelines.
- “You’re just a lightweight. Don’t talk to me that way. I’m the President of the United States. Don’t ever talk to the president that way,” Trump added.
Clips of the confrontation have racked up more than 5.5 million views on Twitter.
The backdrop: The surprise press conference came after the president phoned holiday greetings to members of the armed forces.
- Trump made headlines on Thursday by saying he would leave the White House in January if electors voted for Biden, but reiterated his belief that the election was “rigged,” a message he underlined on Twitter later in the day.
- He also refused to say whether he would attend Biden’s inauguration and highlighted aspects of his legacy, including regulatory cuts and the lead-up to the development of several effective COVID-19 vaccines.
- “Don’t let Joe Biden take credit for the vaccines… Don’t let him take credit for the vaccines because the vaccines were me and I pushed people harder than they’ve ever been pushed before,” he said.
Georgia: Trump expressed his intention to campaign Saturday in Georgia for the state’s Republican senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, saying, “We’re going to have a tremendous turnout, and we seem to always have a good turnout.”
- The Georgia runoff elections, which will determine whether Republicans maintain control of the Senate, are to be held January 5.
