US President Donald Trump lashed out at NBC reporter, calling him "disgrace" and "jerk" on Wednesday after he asked about accepting a luxurious Qatari jet and modifying it as a future Air Force One.
Fuming over the question, Trump said that the reporter Peter Alexander is a disgrace and directed him not to ask any more questions.
Trump, while having a tense meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House, accused the reporter of diverting attention from more pressing issues, such as the violence and racist laws against white farmers in South Africa.
"You get out of here. What does this have to do with the Qatari jet? They're giving the United States Air Force a jet. Okay. And it's a great thing. We're talking about a lot of other things. It's NBC trying to get off the subject of what you just saw. You are a real. You know, you're a terrible reporter, number one. You don't have what it takes to be a reporter. Not smart enough. But for you to go onto a subject about a jet that was given to the United States Air Force, which is a very nice thing, they also gave $5.1 trillion worth of investment in addition to the jet," Trump said.
"Go back. You ought to go back to your studio at NBC because Brian Roberts and the people that run that place, they ought to be investigated. They are so terrible the way you run that network. And you're a disgrace. No more questions from you. Go. Go ahead. Talk about that. His name is Peter something. He's a terrible reporter. Quiet, quiet, quiet. Let's go," he added.
Despite Trump's warning over the question, Alexander persisted in questioning the president. "Why extend a White House invitation to [Ramaphosa] if genocide is occurring?" he inquired.
"Quiet, quiet," responded the president, before acknowledging another journalist.
The Qatar aircraft question continued to irritate Trump later, following responses from both leaders regarding allegations of genocide in South Africa.
“If the news wasn’t fake, like NBC, which is fake news, one of the worst like ABC, NBC, CBS, if they weren’t fake news like this jerk that we have here,” the president said, pointing to Alexander, “If we had real reporters, they’d be covering it.”
"White farmers are being killed and buried, yet his concern is about an aircraft donation. You should feel disgrace. Your reporting is absolutely dreadful," Trump stated.
“‘So why did they give us a plane to the United States Air Force?’” he continued, mocking Alexander once again. “That’s what that idiot talks about after viewing a thing where thousands of people are dead.”
Ramaphosa attempted to lighten the atmosphere by offering a humorous apology for arriving without an aircraft gift.
"I regret not bringing a plane for you," the South African leader remarked.
"I wish you had," Trump replied. "Should your nation offer an aircraft to the United States Air Force, I would accept it."
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