President Donald Trump erupted at ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott on Monday, lashing out when she pressed him on whether he would release the full, unedited video of a Sept. 2 military strike on an alleged drug boat—footage he had previously said he would provide “no problem.”  His lat est attack on a female journalist unfolded during a Cabinet Room roundtable and quickly triggered renewed scrutiny of both his handling of the matter and his treatment of reporters who challenge him. President Donald Trump yells at a reporter on Dec. 8. (Photo: X/@CalltoActivism) Scott’s question focused on the unfolding scrutiny surrounding a reported second strike on two survivors who were left floating in the ocean after the initial hit.  “Mr. President, you said you’d have ‘no problem’ releasing the full video of that strike on September 2 off the coast of Venezuela. Secretary Hegseth —” Scott said before Trump cut her off, visibly irritated. “I didn’t say that. You said that, I didn’t say that,” Trump said.  ‘Why Is He So Stupid’: Trump’s Insane Secret to His Worst Habit Blows Up Online — and Critics Scramble to Decode It as Fears He’s Lost It Grow Even Louder “Are you committed to releasing the full video?” Scott came back, only to be met with more hostility. “Didn’t I just tell you that?” Trump snapped. “You are the most obnoxious reporter in the whole place. Let me just tell you, you are an obnoxious, a terrible reporter. And it’s always the same thing with you. I told you.” The confrontation stood in sharp contrast to Trump’s public position only five days earlier, when he stated he would “certainly” release whatever video existed of the September 2 strike. His reversal, paired with the personal attack on Scott, underscored how the administration’s shifting explanations have intensified the controversy. Five days ago: Trump says “no problem,” he’ll certainly release whatever video they have of the September 2 boat strikesToday: Trump says he never said he had no problem releasing the full video, launches personal attack against reporter who reminded him of his prior comment pic.twitter.com/y8JQg7rf0c— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) December 8, 2025 Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee quickly moved to hold the president to his earlier pledge to release footage of the second strike.  In a letter obtained by Axios, lawmakers led by Democratic New York Rep. Pat Ryan pressed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to turn over the full footage. “We look forward to your prompt response and release of this footage to the public, as has already been promised by President Trump,” they wrote. “The American people deserve transparency on these attacks. It is your obligation to release the footage.” Demands from Congress landed after The Washington Post reported that Hegseth had authorized the second strike aimed at killing two survivors — an action that could constitute a war crime if the intent was solely to execute them. Hegseth denied ordering the follow-up strike, insisting Admiral Frank Bradley gave the command. Democratic lawmakers rejected that explanation, with one even introducing articles of impeachment against Hegseth. Lawmakers were allowed to view classified footage of both strikes last Thursday.  The first strike killed nine of the 11 people on board, but drone footage captured the two survivors struggling to stay afloat on the capsized hull for 45–60 minutes before a second strike finished them off. Following the classified briefing, Democrats on the Armed Services Committee sent a letter to the Pentagon requesting the release of “all audio and video footage from the kinetic strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean on September 2, 2025, including the follow-on strikes.”  Nineteen of the 27 Democrats signed the letter, while none of the Republicans did. Pressure on the Defense Department is also building through legislation. The annual defense policy bill now moving through Congress includes provisions compelling the Pentagon to hand over the orders and unedited video of U.S. strikes on boats in international waters. As written, the bill would withhold 25 percent of Hegseth’s travel budget if he failed to provide both the detailed orders behind the strikes and a plan for future briefings. The bill would also require the Pentagon to give Congress “unedited video of strikes conducted against designated terrorist organizations” in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. Hegseth has posted edited clips on social media but has so far refused to release the full versions. While senior lawmakers have seen classified footage of the initial September 2 strike, they have not been shown unedited video from any of the other 21 strikes carried out over the past three months. Democratic lawmakers said Tuesday that Hegseth declined to commit, even behind closed doors, to providing Congress with the full, unedited video of the boat strike, according to The New York Times. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told The Times that Hegseth said, “We have to study it.” “Well, in my view, they’ve studied it long enough,” Schumer added. Monday’s clash marked the second time in recent months that Trump publicly dressed down Scott. In August, she questioned him about his past comments on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump immediately turned his ire on her: “I figured it would be ABC fake news that would ask that question — one of the worst,” he said before dismissing her question entirely. Scott also confronted Trump a year earlier at the National Association of Black Journalists conference in Chicago, where then-candidate Trump refused to answer her opening question about why Black Americans should trust him. “I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner, a first question. You don’t even say, ‘Hello, how are you?’ Are you with ABC? Because I think they’re a fake news network, a terrible network.” Trump’s eruption on Monday reinvigorated concerns about both the Pentagon’s handling of the boat-strike scandal and the president’s increasingly aggressive posture toward women in the press corps. The blowup followed a weekend tirade aimed at CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, whom Trump called “Stupid and Nasty.” Public reaction to the confrontation with Scott largely coalesced around a single demand: that Trump release the full video of the second strike. “He calls the reporter ‘obnoxious’ because the question wasn’t scripted praise,” one critic wrote on X in a viral post. “If there’s nothing to hide, show the tape. If there is something to hide… well, this is exactly what it looks like.” Another commenter noted: “Refusing to release the full footage while two survivors were clearly targeted is an admission of guilt. Transparency isn’t optional when American forces may have committed a w@r cr!me.” Even as criticism mounted, Trump’s base brushed aside the outcry, circulating comments that defended both Trump and the military’s actions. “Trump’s spot on calling out fake news hacks! Those ‘survivors’ were drug smugglers poisoning America, good on the military for finishing the job. Why cry for criminals when thousands of lives are saved? Isn’t protecting our kids more important?” ‘Show the Tape!’: Donald Trump Explodes on Black Reporter Again As Hegseth Pulls All the Stops to Avoid Releasing Bombshell Video ...read more read less