‘Don’t ever talk again’: Trump loses cool over Reflecting Pool fiasco after Jeanine Pirro brought box of evidence to Oval Office showdown
President Donald Trump lashed out at a reporter on Monday, August 3, after she asked whether he planned to fire U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro.
When the reporter identified herself as being from MSNBC, Trump mocked, “MS NOW? What a terrible show — they have the worst people on that channel.”
“MS NOW — that’s the failed MSDNC, right? They failed, they failed, so they gave it a new name. You know why? Because nobody watched it,” he continued.
He then turned his attention back to the reporter who had another question for him, saying, “Don’t ever talk again. You’re fake. You’re one of the worst in the business.”
The confrontation came just hours after Pirro reportedly carried a box of evidence into a closed-door Oval Office meeting, attempting to convince Trump that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool stemmed from faulty construction rather than vandalism.
The exchange came at a time of tension between Trump and Pirro after her office filed a motion on Friday arguing that the Reflecting Pool’s damage stemmed from faulty construction, claiming “the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration” contributed to its poor installation.
The filing defended David Hearn, a three-time Olympic canoeist charged in connection with the damage, arguing that prosecutors had wrongly blamed him for problems caused by poor construction.
The filing also argued that the Department of the Interior withheld key information from prosecutors, stating: “Had DOI been forthcoming with the information clearly in its possession, the government would not have sought a grand jury indictment.”
Trump later accused Pirro of backing down under pressure from the judge overseeing the case.
“Frankly I think she choked, because the judge was really vicious. Instead of going after the people that did it, the judge went after her and went after her department and I guess she choked. I don’t know what the hell happened,” Trump concluded.
“I was disappointed with Jeanine Pirro, really disappointed with Jeanine Pirro. She folded like an umbrella,” the POTUS continued.
For weeks, Trump maintained that vandals and not construction flaws were responsible for damaging the newly renovated Reflecting Pool.
On August 1, he took to Truth Social to attack Pirro as he wrote, “I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool. I don’t know what she was thinking?”
“To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM, that included the grass, which had a big 86 47 emblazoned in giant letters on it and other elements of the surrounding area,” he wrote. “There may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by VANDALS!”
Although Trump has openly criticized Pirro’s handling of the case, he said he has not yet decided whether she will remain in her role.