Trump reportedly told Andrew McCabe that his wife was a 'loser'


President Trump made an unusual request of former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe during a phone call last year, NBC News reported Monday.
Apparently incensed by the image of James Comey boarding an FBI plane the day after Trump fired him as FBI director, Trump called McCabe, then the acting director of the bureau, to express his outrage, NBC News reports.
McCabe told the president that though he had not greenlit Comey's flight, "if anyone had asked, [I] would have approved it," NBC News reports. That prompted Trump to be "silent for a moment," NBC News says, before he turned to insulting McCabe's wife, telling McCabe to "ask his wife how it feels to be a loser."
Subscribe to 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.
McCabe reportedly replied rather neutrally, saying, "Okay, sir." McCabe's wife Jill ran for state Senate in Virginia in 2015, losing her bid. Trump has launched months of attacks against McCabe because his wife accepted campaign funds from former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), a supporter of Hillary Clinton, during her run.
An unnamed White House official denied the report to NBC News, saying, "This simply never happened. Any suggestion otherwise is pure fiction." The FBI declined to comment to NBC News. McCabe resigned as deputy director of the FBI on Monday.
Read more at NBC News.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kelly O'Meara Morales is a staff writer at The Week. He graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and studied Middle Eastern history and nonfiction writing amongst other esoteric subjects. When not compulsively checking Twitter, he writes and records music, subsists on tacos, and watches basketball.
-
5 shellshocked cartoons about Trump's first 100 days
Cartoons Artists take on a wild ride, F.D.R., and more
-
Kashmir: on the brink of a 'catastrophic' war
Talking Point Relations between India and Pakistan are 'cratering' in the aftermath of a shocking terror attack in the disputed border region
-
A journey into Egypt's western desert
The Week Recommends There is much more to be found in Egypt when straying from the usual tourist destinations
-
Trump judge bars deportations under 1798 law
speed read A Trump appointee has ruled that the president's use of a wartime act for deportations is illegal
-
Trump ousts Waltz as NSA, taps him for UN role
speed read President Donald Trump removed Mike Waltz as national security adviser and nominated him as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations
-
Trump blames Biden for tariffs-linked contraction
speed read The US economy shrank 0.3% in the first three months of 2025, the Commerce Department reported
-
Trump says he could bring back Ábgego García but won't
Speed Read At a rally to mark his 100th day in office, the president doubled down on his unpopular immigration and economic policies
-
Canada's Liberals, Carney win national election
Speed Read The party of Prime Minister Mark Carney beat Conservative Pierre Poilievre thanks in part to Trump's trade war
-
Trump's 100-day approval ratings at historic low
Speed Read Americans appear to be wary of Trump's sweeping tariffs and handling of the economy
-
Judge blocks key part of Trump's elections overhaul
Speed Read Colleen Kollar-Kotelly's decision temporarily bars federal officials from requiring Americans to prove they are citizens to register to vote
-
Hegseth's chief of staff joins Pentagon exodus
Speed Read Joe Kasper has stepped down, leaving the Defense Secretary 'increasingly isolated'