The fake news media can’t help themselves.
ABC News sent one of its reporters to ambush President Trump at the Lincoln Memorial, and she got a lot more than she bargained for.
And Donald Trump left the fake news media instantly regretting the one question.
Trump Puts Washington, D.C. Back in Order While the Media Whines About It
President Trump made a visit on Thursday to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which is in the middle of a restoration project ahead of America’s 250th anniversary celebrations this summer.
The pool needed work. Real work. The Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the surrounding grounds — Trump said crews had to remove 11 or 12 truckloads of garbage out of the water. And it had sat there for years like that.
That’s not a small cleanup. That’s years of neglect baked in, the kind of thing that happens when nobody in charge actually cares what the nation’s capital looks like.
Trump was in the middle of praising the work crews when ABC News Senior Political Correspondent Rachel Scott decided to take her shot.
“Mr. President, you are here against the backdrop of a war in Iran. Why focus on all these projects right now?” Scott asked.
Trump didn’t flinch.
“Because I want to keep our country beautiful and safe,” Trump said. “This place was disgusting. It’s an ugly place. Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and we had a terrible — you probably don’t see dirt, but I do. If you walk down this pond… They had to take 11 or 12 truckloads of garbage out of that lake, out of that water. And it sat there for years like that.”
He kept going. “And that’s not what our country is about. Our country is about beauty, cleanliness, safety, great people. Not a filthy capital.”
Then he turned his attention directly to the reporter herself.
“It’s such a stupid question that you ask,” Trump said. “This is one of the worst reporters. She’s with ABC fake news. She’s a horror show.”
“And she says, ‘Why would you bother fixing this up?’ Why would I bother taking 11 or 12 truckloads of filth out of the water in front of the Lincoln Monument? That’s what made our country great — beauty. Made our country, people. A question like that is a disgrace to our country.”
ABC News and Rachel Scott Have a History With Trump
This wasn’t Scott’s first rodeo with the President, and it probably won’t be her last.
Back at the July 2024 National Association of Black Journalists convention, Trump told Scott that Kamala Harris “happened to turn Black.” Scott pressed him hard that day too, and the exchange made national headlines as the media tried to whip up a new hoax to smear Trump as a racist when all he meant by his comments was that Kamala Harris would modify her accent based on who she was speaking to at the time.
Last December, Trump called Scott a “terrible” reporter for pressing him about U.S. strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean.
So Thursday was hardly out of character for either of them. Scott goes looking for a fight, and Trump gives her one every single time.
ABC News did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Shocking, that.
Trump Has Had Enough of ABC News, Full Stop
Trump has lashed out at reporters several times in his second term. During a press gaggle on Air Force One in March, Trump called ABC News “corrupt.”
That March incident had its own memorable moment. Trump was asked at the time if he could explain why thousands of Marines and sailors were being sent to the Middle East. The president appeared to shush the reporter before responding. “You’re a very obnoxious person,” Trump said before quickly moving on to another reporter.
But it got sharper from there. The president asked the correspondent what network they were with, and the reporter said ABC News. “One of the worst, most fake, most corrupt,” Trump responded. “You know what, ABC News, I think it’s maybe the most corrupt news organization on the planet.”
And he’s not wrong to call them out. ABC News spent years running interference for the Democrat Party, burying stories that hurt their side and amplifying anything that could damage Trump. The network settled a defamation lawsuit with Trump for $15 million back in December 2024 over false statements anchor George Stephanopoulos made on air. They don’t exactly come to this fight with clean hands.
The Media Keeps Missing the Point
Here’s what Rachel Scott and the rest of the press corps apparently can’t wrap their heads around: a President can do more than one thing at a time.
The idea that restoring the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool somehow conflicts with managing a military situation in the Middle East is the kind of logic that only makes sense if your goal isn’t to ask a real question — it’s to make the President look bad on camera.
Trump called it out for exactly what it was. The question wasn’t about Iran. It wasn’t about gas prices. It was a setup, and a clumsy one at that.
The national media has spent years treating the physical state of Washington, D.C. like it’s beneath the dignity of serious political coverage. But voters notice when the monuments their tax dollars are supposed to maintain look like they haven’t been touched in a decade. Eleven or twelve truckloads of garbage pulled out of the water in front of the Lincoln Memorial isn’t a footnote. That’s a story about what the previous administration let happen to the country’s front yard.
Trump sees it. His supporters see it. And ABC News’ Rachel Scott, apparently, does not.
Don’t expect the media’s approach to change anytime soon. These reporters have been trying the same tired ambush strategy since 2015, and every time Trump swats it back, they act surprised. They’ll send someone to the next photo opportunity with another version of the same question, and Trump will give them another version of the same answer.
But at least the Reflecting Pool will look good for America’s 250th birthday.
Sources: Fox News, Fox News Digital, AOL/Fox News syndication