Trump’s recent launch of a ‘Hall of Shame’ on the White House website, aimed squarely at reporters he disagrees with, marks yet another low blow in a long line of media publicity stunts.
The page reads much like a childish game, naming media outlets and individual reporters as ‘offenders of the week’, where their wrongdoings are exposed and sorted into categories such as ‘bias’, ‘lie’ and ‘left-wing lunacy’. It even provides a leaderboard, ranking the news outlets in a ‘race to the bottom’. According to the International Business Times, the page notably targets female journalists, signalling out individual women for specific offences.
While to Trump and his team, this sort of spectacle may be a vote-winning tactic used to fuel one man’s ego and shock his followers, it is also a stark reminder that women in journalism are still fighting for respect, even at the highest levels.
It is tempting to dismiss Trump’s behaviour as mere rage bait. But if the President of the United States feels empowered enough to publicly shame women at the top of their profession, the implications for young reporters are serious. Women starting their careers, covering local councils or grassroots campaigns, are watching, and they see a world in which their gender makes them targets rather than respected voices, even to the highest of political figures.
There is a long list of recent high-profile incidents to accompany the ‘Hall of Shame’ that illustrate Trump’s distasteful treatment of female reporters. Notably, while aboard Air Force One on 14 November, a female journalist from Bloomberg News questioned Trump as to whether there was something incriminating in the Epstein files. In response, Trump pointed directly at her and said, “Quiet. Quiet, piggy.”
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt quickly came to Trump’s defence during a press conference after the incident, claiming that: ‘The President is very frank and honest with everyone in this room. It’s one of the many reasons the American people re-elected this President.” Further, she claimed the president “calls out fake news when he sees it. He gets frustrated with reporters when you lie about him, when you spread fake news about him and his administration.”
Such comments resemble childish playground taunts, reflecting a style Trump often refers back to when confronted with critical questions that he cannot answer. For example, another viral incident came to light more recently on 8 December, when a female reporter asked about Trump’s commitment to release a viral video showing a controversial US military strike on a Venezuelan boat. Trump quickly fired back: “You are the most obnoxious reporter in the whole place. Let me just tell you, you are an obnoxious, terrible, actually, a terrible reporter.”
When the journalist continued, letting him know that he had indeed said that he had no problem with releasing the video of the strike, he quickly interrupted: “I didn’t say that. You said that. I didn’t say that. This is ABC fake news.”
The International Women’s Media Foundation notes that attacks on so-called ‘fake news,’ are, in reality, attacks on women, and often on women of colour. Executive Director Ms. Munoz explains: “It is really designed to shut them up, to try and get them to stop working, to belittle, to humiliate.”
There have been several instances where the President attacked women journalists from minority backgrounds, in particular. Notably, all in the same month, Trump attacked three Black female journalists from CNN, slamming Abby Phillip for her “stupid question”, calling April Ryan a “loser”, who “doesn’t know what the hell she’s doing”, and accusing Ms Alcindor of asking a “racist question”.
In response, Phillip claimed that Trump “seems to not be tolerant of taking difficult questions, particularly from women….The President making assumptions about reporters based on their ethnicity is a pattern here.”
During the coronavirus pandemic, Trump also notably belittled Chinese American CBS reporter Weijia Jiang, telling her to ask China about the virus herself. He also told her to keep her voice down and ask “nice and easy” questions going forward.
Trump is especially familiar with using social media to show his disdain with female reporters. Recently, he took to Truth Social to hit back at CNN host Kaitlan Collins, who pointed out the rising cost of his new ballroom, which is already $100 million over budget: “Kaitlan Collin’s of Fake News CNN, always stupid and nasty.”
At the end of November, he similarly attacked Katie Rogers on the platform, calling her “a third-rate reporter who is ugly, both inside and out,” without any mention of her male co-author.
Long before his presidency, Trump faced widespread criticism for objectifying and publicly insulting women. From his infamous “grab her by the pussy” comment caught on tape, to decades of derogatory remarks about female celebrities, political opponents, and even his own daughters, women in his orbit have frequently been demeaned for their appearance, intelligence and character.
While supporters have been quick to brush these comments off as humour, his position as President of the United States means that his language directly reinforces a culture in which women are valued less and objectified more. His hateful words, coupled with his public endorsement of misogynistic figures like Andrew Tate, set a disturbing precedent for society. When someone in a position of ultimate authority openly ridicules and subordinates women in professional spaces, it sends a dangerous signal that such behaviour is acceptable not only in the workplace, but also in schools, homes and even personal relationships.
This is compounded further by public scrutiny, with comments appearing on social media blaming the journalists themselves for not fighting back. One user on TikTok asked, “Why are these reporters just taking his insults?” while another added, “I can’t fathom why not one reporter calls him out on his behaviour.” This dynamic highlights the double bind women journalists face: challenge the abuse and risk further professional retaliation, or stay silent and be blamed for not defending themselves.
Sadly, it is becoming increasingly clear that this type of treatment towards women is creeping into daily life. Several studies have found that not just in the US, but worldwide, misogyny is growing among adolescent males. The impact of Trump’s rhetoric evidently goes far beyond his presidency and indeed, his lifetime, with a whole new generation of young men being raised to believe this dehumanising language is acceptable.
Ultimately, the problem did not start and will not end with Trump. Women journalists continue to find themselves interrupted more often, have their expertise questioned more aggressively and see their accomplishments minimised. Trump’s ‘Hall of Shame’ and repeated targeting of female reporters only reinforces the idea that women’s voices are negotiable and their authority is optional.
As long as women continue to be punished for speaking up, the integrity of journalism and the equality of society will be at stake. The attacks on female journalists by the President serve as a warning that women’s voices can be challenged even at the very top of the industry.
This is exactly why it’s more important than ever that we amplify and support those he tries to silence.
