Trump Rips Norah O’Donnell On Air
President Trump went after CBS News anchor Norah O’Donnell during a Sunday interview after she read portions of a manifesto tied to the man accused in the Washington Hilton attack. The exchange got tense fast, with Trump clearly irritated by the way the interview was handled.
According to the report, a heavily armed man stormed the lobby of the Washington Hilton on Saturday night, rushed past a Secret Service checkpoint, and opened fire at a Secret Service agent. The suspect, identified as Cole Allen, 31, of Torrence, California, was taken into custody and charged with using a firearm during a crime of violence and assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon.
Allen’s manifesto, later revealed on Sunday, included harsh attacks on Trump. Some of the language echoed the kind of political rage that now spills into public life far too easily. In one passage, Allen wrote, “Turning the other cheek is for when you yourself are oppressed. I’m not the person raped in a detention camp. I’m not the fisherman executed without trial,” and later added, “I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes,”.
During the interview, O’Donnell read from the manifesto and pressed Trump on whether the shooter had been talking about him. Trump pushed back hard. “I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would, because you’re horrible people. Horrible people,” Trump said. “Yeah, he did write that. I’m not a rapist. I didn’t rape anybody.” When O’Donnell asked, “Oh, do you think he was referring to you?” Trump fired back, “I’m not a pedophile.”
The back-and-forth only got sharper from there. Trump said, “You read that crap from some sick person. I got associated with stuff that has nothing to do with me. I was totally exonerated,” before adding, “You should be ashamed of yourself for reading that, because I’m not any of those things,” and then, “Excuse me! Excuse me! You shouldn’t be reading that on ‘60 Minutes.’ You’re a disgrace, but go ahead, let’s finish the interview.”
The interview put a bright spotlight on a bigger problem: the media’s habit of turning chaos into theater while serious threats keep piling up. Trump made clear he wasn’t going to sit quietly while O’Donnell repeated what he saw as ugly, one-sided trash on national television.