Trump called journalists 'scumbags' who 'should be executed,' Bolton claims

President Trump's anti-journalist rhetoric is reportedly far worse behind the scenes.

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton's forthcoming book, The Room Where It Happened, is in the hands of a few journalists, and it's chock full of quotes and recollections from Bolton's time in the Trump White House. And while Bolton's affirmation of Trump's push for a Ukraine affirmation is noteworthy as it relates to Trump's impeachment, some of his seemingly throwaway statements, like the time Trump called for journalists to be "executed," are among the most disturbing of Bolton's claims.

In The Room Where it Happened, Bolton recalls a 2019 closed-door meeting with Trump in New Jersey, The Washington Post reports via an advance copy. There, Trump said journalists should be put in jail so they have to reveal anonymous sources, Bolton claims. "These people should be executed. They are scumbags," Trump said, per Bolton's recollection.

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"Enemy of the people" almost seems like a compliment now.