Donald Trump’s repeated use of demeaning language toward female journalists who question him has prompted a new round of criticism and a call for news organizations to change how they cover him.
Guardian US columnist Margaret Sullivan on Friday published a column arguing that the press has failed to respond effectively to a pattern of insults she said stretches back years. “It’s past time that journalists and their bosses decide that this is unacceptable. And do something about it,” Sullivan wrote.
The column catalogs instances in which Trump has used gender-targeted language toward female reporters. Sullivan reported that Trump told Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey “Quiet, Piggy” last year during a press gaggle when she pushed him about the release of the Epstein files. She wrote that Trump called CNN’s Kaitlan Collins “a corrupt reporter,” claiming she had “hatred in her eyes.” He described NBC’s Kristen Welker as “crooked or stupid” last weekend on NBC’s Meet the Press, Sullivan wrote, before he “stormed off in a huff.”
Trump later abruptly ended that interview with Welker. MSI previously reported the June 7 encounter, in which Trump walked off the set after Welker pressed him for evidence of his claims about rigged elections.
Sullivan also noted Trump’s 2015 comment about then-Fox News host Megyn Kelly, who questioned him during the first Republican debate, in which he said she had “blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.” She added that Trump has referred to New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman as “maggot” on social media.
Sullivan wrote that Trump is “often insulting to male journalists, too” but appears to have “a next-level hatred for women, especially those with a regular on-air presence.” She said the reasons — “whether the reason is straight-up misogyny, performative defensiveness, more of his usual distract-and-deny method, or something else” — do not matter, because “the insults and the lies keep happening and must stop.”
Sullivan proposed three elements of a different approach for journalists. First, she recommended that reporters have “receipts” handy — audio or video of Trump’s past statements — to confront him when he contradicts himself. Second, she urged more direct confrontation about false claims, using language such as: “Why do you keep lying about rigged elections when there’s absolutely no evidence?” Third, she suggested journalists practice cutting off interviews if false statements persist, telling Trump and the public: “We’re going to end this interview rather than let you continue to make false statements to the public.”
Sullivan acknowledged that these tactics carry risks, including reduced access to the president. “In today’s competitive and largely corporate media environment, access to powerful government officials is prized,” she wrote. She also noted that reporters rarely stick up for each other in a show of solidarity, an effort that she said “might make a difference over time.”
The column reflects a broader debate about how the press interacts with Trump, who has been in office since January 2025. News organizations have periodically confronted Trump over his statements, but access remains a central consideration in newsroom strategy.