CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell Is Attacked by Trump Again: ‘She’s Terrible’

Donald Trump and Norah O'Donnell
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; 60 Minutes YouTube

What To Know

  • Trump called Norah O’Donnell “terrible” following their contentious 60 Minutes interview.
  • O’Donnell previously read from the alleged manifesto of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooter and questioned Trump about its contents.
  • CBS News defended O’Donnell, stating that it is a journalist’s responsibility to ask tough questions and seek the truth.

President Donald Trump has no love for Norah O’Donnell as he continued to insult the CBS News reporter during a phone call interview on The Hugh Hewitt Show on Monday (May 4).

Hewitt asked the president about his recent sit-down interview with O’Donnell on 60 Minutes, which was taped just a day after the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting on April 25. During the interview, O’Donnell read from the alleged manifesto of Cole Allen, the suspect charged with attempting to assassinate Trump.

“She’s terrible,” Trump said while Hewitt claimed that O’Donnell’s questions were designed to make the president “walk off” the set.

“Did you think about walking off?” Hewitt asked.

“No, because then you make it a bigger story,” Trump responded. “She’s terrible. I mean, she’s interviewed me. She’s a regular person that gets paid a lot of money. She’s no different… I could get any woman off the street, practically, and they would do just as good a job as her. There’s nothing special.”

O’Donnell read quotes from Allen’s alleged manifesto while speaking with Trump on last month’s 60 Minutes. “He appears to reference a motive in it. He writes this quote, ‘Administration officials, they are targets.’ And he also wrote this, ‘I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.’ What’s your reaction to that?” the former CBS Evening News anchor asked.

“Well, I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would because you’re… horrible people,” Trump replied. “Yeah, he did write that. I’m not a rapist. I didn’t rape anybody.”

O’Donnell turned it back on the president, asking, “Oh, do you think he was referring to you?”

“Excuse me… I’m not a pedophile,” Trump continued. “You read that crap from some sick person? I got associated with all… stuff that has nothing to do with me.” He went on to say O’Donnell “should be ashamed” and called her a “disgrace.”

CBS News previously released a statement defending O’Donnell’s line of questioning, saying, “This suspect is being charged with one count of trying to assassinate the President of the United States. It is a basic tenet of journalism to ask questions and seek the truth. It was our responsibility to ask the president about the latest evidence and what we had just learned after obtaining the manifesto a few hours before the interview.”

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