A top Trump staffer reportedly threatened to ban White House officials from going on Fox News
White House official Boris Epshteyn reportedly recently lost his cool with President Trump's favored network, Fox News. Politico reported Tuesday that after an unexpected question last month on Fox anchor Bill Hemmer's show about Trump's immigration executive order, Epshteyn — who is in charge of "plugging Trump's message on television" — got into "a yelling match" with a Fox News booker and threatened to "pull all West Wing officials from appearing on Fox News":
"Am I someone you want to make angry?" Epshteyn told the booker, the sources said. When he threatened to pull White House officials from the network, the fed-up booker had had enough."Go right ahead," the booker fired back, the sources said, aware that Epshteyn had no power to follow through on a threat that would have upended the administration's relationship with a sympathetic news network. [Politico]
Epshteyn's outburst wasn't a relationship-ender, and Trump officials have continued to appear on Fox News.
However, the incident was far from the first time Epshteyn has ruffled feathers. Though he's widely respected in the Trump sphere for his loyalty, his reputation among TV networks isn't so solid, with many network contributors recalling encounters that have left a bad taste in their mouths. "He calls women 'girls,' and he has no decorum about how he speaks to people. He's somebody that just makes the room uncomfortable," national MSNBC correspondent Joy-Ann Reid told Politico. "When he leaves the room, the conversation is, 'I hope he never comes back.'"
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Read more on the man who reportedly "terrorizes network green rooms" at Politico.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Courgette and leek ijeh (Arabic frittata) recipeThe Week Recommends Soft leeks, tender courgette, and fragrant spices make a crisp frittata
-
Trump’s power grab: the start of a new world order?Talking Point Following the capture of Nicolás Maduro, the US president has shown that arguably power, not ‘international law’, is the ultimate guarantor of security
-
Unrest in Iran: how the latest protests spread like wildfireIn the Spotlight Deep-rooted discontent at the country’s ‘entire regime’ and economic concerns have sparked widespread protest far beyond Tehran
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
-
Trump says US ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after Maduro grabSpeed Read The American president claims the US will ‘run’ Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time, contradicting a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’