"Get Him Out of Here": Donald Trump Tossed NBC Reporter's Phones During Tirade Aboard Campaign Plane

[Nevilledog]

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/05/trump-2024-gaggle

No paywall
https://archive.is/pAKLH

It was March and former president Donald Trump was aboard his plane with a gaggle of reporters following a campaign rally in Waco, Texas. He started off in good spirits. But then a line of questioning from NBC News reporter Vaughn Hillyard, who suggested that Trump had in recent days seemed “frustrated” by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s investigation, began irritating the former president. “Don’t ask me any more questions,” Trump said. About 10 minutes later, as Hillyard continued to ask about the investigation, Trump snapped, grabbing the reporter’s two phones and chucking them to the side, according to a source familiar with the matter. “Get him out of here,” Trump told his aides, according to a recording obtained by Vanity Fair.

The incident occurred a few days before Trump would be indicted by a Manhattan grand jury for his role in hush-money payments made to Stormy Daniels. Some of Trump’s comments on the plane have been previously reported, such as when he responded to reporters’ questions about Bragg’s probe by attacking it as a “fake case” that “they’ve already dropped.” The Guardian noted how Trump lashed out at Hillyard when the NBC News reporter asked whether he was frustrated by the investigation. Trump denied the notion, insisting, “We did nothing wrong,” and saying, “This is fake news, and NBC is one of the worst. Don’t ask me any more questions.” Hillyard himself said Trump avoided specifics and called the press “fake news.” But the full scope of Trump’s tirade, including his throwing the reporter’s phones, has not been previously reported. Hillyard declined to comment.

Axios reported that Trump’s 2024 team is running a more professional operation than that of his previous runs, with seasoned political operatives intending on running a “disciplined campaign.” Yet the incident demonstrates Trump's hostile relationship with the press remains unchanged. Trump was notorious for lashing out at reporters while in the White House. On the campaign trail, he regularly turned the ire of the crowd toward the press, famously coining “fake news” as a rallying cry.

Hillyard’s questions revolved around Trump’s posts on Truth Social at the time; the former president had warned that there could be “potential death and destruction” if he was indicted. When Hillyard again tried to clarify Trump’s “version of events” around the DA’s investigation, the ex-president said, “I don’t want to talk to you.” Hillyard tried to ask another question. “Do you hear me? You’re not a nice guy,” Trump said, turning to take a question from another reporter. When Hillyard tried a third time to get a response, Trump lost it. “Alright, let’s go, get him out of here,” Trump said. “Outta here. Outta here,” Trump said, as Hillyard kept trying: “The special counsel, sir.” A deeper voice, apparently belonging to a Trump campaign aide, can be heard saying, “Vaughn, we’re done.”

*snip*

[Chainfire]

1. They may well have a disciplined campaign, but they wont have a disciplined candidate.

Trump is just too damn dumb to know when to shut up.

[gratuitous]

2. Two months later, and we hear about it now

Maybe the former guy and his campaign staff are trying to be more disciplined, but the media seem as disciplined as always. Nobody even had to ask them about the way the former guy treated Vaughn Hillyard, they all agreed to zip their lips about it for weeks. I'll bet they didn't even have to be asked!

[sheshe2]

3. Kudos to Hillyard!

[ecstatic]

4. Why are we just now learning about this

I know that trump is a child so none of this is surprising, but what bothers me is that Hillyard appears to not want to go on record regarding the incident. I can only assume that it's to protect his access to trump on future outings.

I don't like that.

Everyone scrambling to get the dumbest or most controversial comment from trump appears to have lost sight of the bigger picture: trump is an extremely dangerous person who has already tried to violently overthrow our government. Yet he continues to be enabled by everyone around him, including the press, unfortunately.

[Boomerproud]

5. Cowards.

NT

[Talitha]

6. Throwing phones - what'sa matter, no ketchup handy?

Babyman has a tantrum, so what else is new?