President Donald Trump mocked the Washington Post when one of its reporters asked about his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump is fresh from a testy exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House. As Zelensky offered criticism to Trump and Vice President JD Vance amid the presence of the press, Trump warned Zelensky that he was “playing with World War III.” On Saturday night, Russia attacked Ukraine, killing 11 people and injuring 40, despite efforts by the Trump administration to bring Putin to the negotiation table.
While returning to Washington, D.C., from Florida over the weekend, Trump took questions from reporters on Air Force One on Sunday. Michael Birnbaum, who has been the Washington Post White House correspondent since Trump took office, asked about the attack.
“Do you believe Putin is disrespecting you by attacking Ukraine?” Birnbaum asked.
“What did he do?” Trump asked.
“Well, he’s attacked Ukraine,” Birnbaum said.
“Is he disrespecting me? Who are you with?” Trump asked.
“I’m Michael Birnbaum, from the Washington Post,” Birnbaum said.
“You’ve lost a lot of credibility,” Trump said before moving on to the next question.
Birnbaum was the pool reporter over the weekend, reporting on the White House news while Trump was in Florida. In his report on Sunday, Birnbaum added that after the exchange, “POTUS did later answer one of your pooler’s questions, indicating, perhaps, that the Washington Post can live to fight another day.”
This comes after Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos announced last month that the paper will no longer publish opinion editorials opposing “personal liberties” or “free markets.” The decision came on the heels of some 200,000 digital readers cancelling their subscriptions following the Washington Post’s decision not to offer an endorsement ahead of the 2024 election. A written endorsement of then-Vice President Kamala Harris had already been in the works when Bezos decided to break with tradition.
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U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget A. Brink said in a statement she was “horrified” at the attacks that struck different areas of Ukraine, “including a double tap hitting first responders in Dobropillia.” Brink lamented that “civilians continue to bear the cost of this war.”
Three years after the conflict began, Russian casualties approach 1 million dead, while Trump has suggested 700,000 Ukrainian troops are also dead. However, Zelensky claims the Ukrainian death toll is 45,000.