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Jon Karl, the ABC News chief White House correspondent who clashed with President Trump during Monday's press briefing, said he believes Trump's hostility toward the media is "part of a show."
In an interview with Mediaite, Karl said he doesn't take offense to Trump's shots at news reporters. Trump often lashes out at the press for questions he deems unfair, no matter the legitimacy.
"He is thin-skinned," Karl said. "He genuinely loses his temper. But he also loves to make the news media the primary villain in his ongoing reality show."
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Trump lashed out at Karl during Monday's press briefing after asking the president about a report from the inspector general having to do with a backlog of coronavirus tests at hospitals.
Trump then asked another reporter the name of the inspector general: Christi Grimm, the principal deputy inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services.
"Oh, you didn’t tell me that," Trump said to Karl after he indicated the report was written by Grimm, who served in the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations. "See, there’s a typical fake news deal … You’re a third-rate reporter, and what you just said is a disgrace. Thank you very much, Jon. You will never make it."
Grimm was appointed to the IG office in 2014 and assumed her position in January. During his interview, Karl said Trump's treatment of the press isn't genuine.
“He praises me to his friends and then he’ll come out right after and blast me in front of the cameras. I know for a fact he does this with Maggie Haberman," Karl told the outlet, referring to the White House reporter for the New York Times.
“I think among the fakest things right now are the president’s attack on fake news,” Karl added.
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Fox News' Bret Baier discussed the issue on Tuesday during an appearance on "The Daily Briefing with Dana Perino."
"Those are legitimate questions that they're asking. I think, you know, Jon Karl is not a third-rate reporter, he’s been around, he’s the president of the White House Correspondents Association," Baier said. "Those give-and-takes are the president in his element, and I think we’re going to see more of that. We’ll see if we see it today, he was a bit salty yesterday, it seemed, to some of those questions at the press briefing.”
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