Trump’s ‘second-rate’ tirade against Yamiche Alcindor recalls history of attacks on Black female journalists

Critics of President Trump have long condemned his personal attacks on journalists, but especially Black female journalists like Alcindor.

President Donald Trump personally attacked NBC News reporter Yamiche Alcindor at the White House as she questioned him about a jarring social media post in which he appeared to threaten “war” in Chicago. The blistering tirade recalled previous clashes with Alcindor and other Black female journalists during his first term, and drew swift criticisms from Black leaders, including the president of the nation’s largest association of Black journalists.

“Are you trying to go to war with Chicago?” Alcindor asked Trump on Sunday before he boarded Marine One to depart the White House for the U.S. Open men’s final match.

Just a day before, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that “Chicago is going to learn why it’s called the Department of WAR,” referring to his newly renamed Cabinet-level department for the United States Armed Forces. The post came after weeks of Trump decrying crime in majority Black and brown cities and threatening to send the National Guard to Chicago and other major cities led by Black Democrats.

Emphasizing war in an American city, however, was quite an escalation and drew criticisms from Democrats. Trump downplayed the post, and his border czar, Tom Homan, dismissed it as being “taken out of context.”

When Alcindor attempted to get the president to explain his post, he fired back, “When you say that, darling, that’s fake news.” Alcindor quickly responded, “Well, why would you use the Department of Defense?”

“Listen. Be quiet. Listen. You don’t listen. You never listen. That’s why you’re second-rate,” said Trump.

Civil rights attorney Sherrilyn Ifill, former president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, suggested Trump was “angry” with Alcindor’s question because she struck a nerve.

“He screwed up and has been trying to walk it back. She embarrassed him by being an actual reporter and raising what he wanted to avoid. Coward!” Ifill wrote.

It wouldn’t be the first time Alcindor was insulted by Trump, who has called into question her professionalism when pressed by her persistent questions.

In 2018, when Alcindor asked Trump about calling himself a “nationalist” and the emboldening of white supremacist groups, Trump called it a “racist question.” Trump also called Alcindor “untruthful” in 2019 when she asked him about reported criticisms of his administration’s transparency.

In 2020, Alcindor attempted to get the president to explain his administration’s slow response to the COVID-19 pandemic–which resulted in the deaths of more than one million Americans–Trump called it a “nasty question.”

“You should be saying congratulations instead of asking a really snarky question,” Trump said to Alcindor during another exchange about his response to the pandemic.

“Be nice. Don’t be threatening,” said Trump during another encounter with Alcindor about his handling of the coronavirus outbreak and response in the U.S. His remarks were slammed for what was seen by many as racist and sexist.

Critics of President Trump have long condemned his personal attacks on journalists, but especially Black female journalists like Alcindor.

In 2018, Trump called longtime White House reporter April Ryan a “loser” and said she “doesn’t know what the hell she is doing.” A year earlier, he infamously told her to “set up” a meeting between him and the Congressional Black Caucus when she asked if he would meet with the Black members of Congress to discuss his “urban” agenda.

In 2018, Trump called a question from Abby Phillip “stupid.” Phillip, then a White House correspondent for CNN, later told Elle.com that she was not concerned about whether the president thought her questions were smart or not, adding, “The fact that he had that reaction let me know I was on the right path. It probably wasn’t a stupid question, because then it would’ve been really easy for him to answer.”

After Phillip discussed criticisms of Trump’s tariff policies earlier this year, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “Where does CNN get its ‘talent?’ Just watched someone named Abby Phillip lecture her audience on Tariffs and the economy (which is doing record business!). She has absolutely no idea what she is talking about, strictly 3rd rate. Fortunately, the audience has long ago left CNN, and it will only get WORSE. LOSERS ALL!!!”

In response to Trump’s personal insult of Alcindor on Sunday, the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) vowed to defend Black journalists and the freedom of the press.

“Respect for journalists and their work is more important than ever. When journalists show up to do their jobs, they should not be personally attacked and impounded by subjects they cover,” said NABJ President Errin Haines, who emphasized journalism as “the foundation of democracy.”

“NABJ will continue to champion Black journalists like our 2020 Journalist of the Year, Yamiche Alcindor, who show up every day with integrity, rigor, and clarity, and who carry out this mission every day with professionalism and courage,” said Haines. “We will continue to show up, ask the necessary questions, and do so with professionalism, rigor, and respect for our democracy.”

She added, “When we protect the press, we protect the people.”