Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Trump clashes with black female reporter again who asks about unemployment rates: 'You're something'

Reporter asked about rising minority unemployment despite overall declining joblessness as president sat down to sign a bill. He was not amused.

John T. Bennett
Washington Bureau Chief
Friday 05 June 2020 16:54 BST
Comments
Donald Trump says he hopes George Floyd 'looking down' and seeing today’s jobs numbers as 'a great day for him'

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Donald Trump clashed with reporters on Friday during a press conference that featured him ignoring questions and telling a black journalist she is "something" when she asked about rising minority unemployment rates.

The president came to the Rose Garden for a hastily arranged press conference to tout better-than-predicted employment figures. The Labor Department said the unemployment rate dropped to 13.3 per cent from 14.7 per cent last month.

He unleashed a rather meandering string of words about various topics, and eventually sat down at a table to sign legislation focused on helping small businesses bounce back from the Covid-19 pandemic.

That's when Yamiche Alcindor of PBS and another reporter tried to ask him questions. Mr Trump, whose staff counsels press members about his preference they have "good decorum" regularly, was not amused.

He ignored a question about George Floyd, a black man killed by white police officers in Minneapolis last week. And he grew agitated with Ms Alcindor when she asked how, despite lower overall unemployment, rising joblessness among African-Americans and Asian-Americans could be considered positives.

"Excuse me, I'd like to sign this bill," Mr Trump said before telling Ms Alcindor: "You are something."

She soon defended herself on Twitter, calling her's a "critical question."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in