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]
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.
-
How to Get to Heaven from Belfast: a ‘highly entertaining ride’The Week Recommends Mystery-comedy from the creator of Derry Girls should be ‘your new binge-watch’
-
The 8 best TV shows of the 1960sThe standout shows of this decade take viewers from outer space to the Wild West
-
Microdramas are boomingUnder the radar Scroll to watch a whole movie
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
-
El Paso airspace closure tied to FAA-Pentagon standoffSpeed Read The closure in the Texas border city stemmed from disagreements between the Federal Aviation Administration and Pentagon officials over drone-related tests
-
Judge blocks Trump suit for Michigan voter rollsSpeed Read A Trump-appointed federal judge rejected the administration’s demand for voters’ personal data
