President Donald Trump has ignited yet another firestorm after unleashing a torrent of personal abuse against a prominent female reporter, triggering widespread condemnation across the media industry and beyond.
The president turned his sights on Maggie Haberman of The New York Times on Friday, branding the veteran journalist “unattractive” and a “stalker” after she reported that he intended to snub the 25th-anniversary commemoration of the September 11 attacks in New York.
Trump, 80, took to his Truth Social platform to denounce Haberman, one of the most prominent chroniclers of his presidency, using a degrading nickname and falsely claiming she had fabricated a story about his 9/11 plans.
The attack drew swift and scathing rebukes from journalists, political commentators, and the newspaper itself, with critics labelling the president’s behaviour “disgusting” and “beneath the office.”
The President’s Vitriolic Tirade
The presidential outburst came hours after The New York Times published a report revealing that Trump planned to skip this year’s solemn remembrance at Ground Zero — allegedly because organisers had refused to guarantee him a speaking slot.
Haberman, who co-bylined the story, has long been a fixture in Trump’s crosshairs, having covered him throughout both of his terms in office.
On Friday, the president unleashed a relentless barrage.
“Maggot Hagerman, the Fake Reporter from The Failing New York Times, an unattractive person both inside and out, and who knows less about me than most reporters on the beat — She’s a SCAMMER! — made up a story that on September 11th,” Trump wrote.
He continued his assault in subsequent posts, demanding that Haberman surrender any earnings from her coverage of him and repeatedly labelling her a “PHONY” and “stalker.”
Industry Voices Rise in Defence
The response from media professionals was swift and unambiguous.
CNN anchor Jake Tapper, who described himself as Haberman’s colleague, refused to repeat the president’s words directly but offered a powerful rebuttal.
“I’m not going to repost the filth the president wrote about Maggie Haberman, but suffice it to say she’s a great person, beautiful inside and out, an incredible mum and wife and colleague, and an amazing journalist,” Tapper wrote on social media. “The president’s comments are disgusting and beneath the office.”
Ron Filipkowski, editor-in-chief of progressive media outlet MeidasTouch, was more blunt. “This person is unwell,” he posted while sharing Trump’s message.
The New York Times itself pushed back forcefully, standing by its reporting.
“The report was based on information from multiple people with knowledge of the discussions and planning around New York’s September 11 ceremony,” a newspaper spokesperson stated. “We are confident in the accuracy of our reporting.”
A Pattern of Hostility Toward Female Journalists
Trump’s latest attack represents merely the most recent chapter in a long-running campaign against women in the press corps.
Haberman has endured sustained hostility from the president for years, with her latest book drawing particular ire.
“Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump,” which Haberman co-authored earlier this year, has become a lightning rod for the administration’s wrath. The book contains previously unreported details about White House deliberations over the Iran war and the contents of Jeffrey Epstein’s files — revelations the president has furiously denied.
“Her book is a joke! 90% of it is Fake News,” Trump wrote in July. “Maggot is a loser! If she ever wrote the true story about me, it would actually be quite boring…”
Haberman is far from alone in facing the president’s verbal assaults. CNN’s Kaitlan Collins has repeatedly found herself in Trump’s sights. Earlier this year, he claimed she had “hatred in her eyes” and that he “never see a smile.” In a previous encounter, he branded her “stupid and nasty” after she questioned him about White House business.
Most brazen of all came aboard Air Force One in November, when Trump told a Bloomberg journalist to “Quiet, piggy” after she attempted to ask about Jeffrey Epstein.
When pressed on the incident, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt offered a defence that stunned many observers. “The president is very frank and honest with everyone,” she claimed. “You’ve all seen it yourselves. You’ve all experienced it yourselves. And I think it’s one of the many reasons the American people reelected this president, because of his frankness.”
Why it Matters
This episode exposes something far graver than political disagreement — it reveals an escalating campaign to demonise and delegitimise journalists whose reporting proves inconvenient to the administration. By targeting Haberman specifically over a straightforward news story about commemoration plans, Trump has made clear that factual journalism unwelcome to the White House will be met with personal destruction rather than substantive rebuttal. When the president of the United States openly describes a Pulitzer-shortlisted reporter as “filth” and demands she surrender her earnings, he is not merely settling scores — he is signalling to his supporters and to the world that journalism he dislikes is illegitimate and those who practise it are fair game for harassment. In a democracy, the free press serves as the public’s eyes and ears; undermining it imperils everyone’s right to honest, unflinching information about their government.
