Asked About Kim Jong Un, Trump Lashes Out at Reporter: Be Quiet! Be Quiet!
US President Donald Trump became angry when asked by a reporter at the White House about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump shouted at the reporter from the prominent US media outlet CNN in front of other journalists, telling her to ‘be quiet’ and calling her ‘fake news’.
The moment occurred at the White House on Monday (17/8) local time, after Trump ordered the Pentagon to ‘significantly reduce’ joint US-South Korea military exercises, which were scheduled to begin on 17 August local time.
His stated reasons were the ‘large’ cost of the annual military drills and Seoul’s refusal to participate in US military operations against Iran.
During a question-and-answer session at the White House, as reported by Reuters and HuffPost on Tuesday (18/8/2026), one reporter asked whether Trump was cutting the joint US-South Korea military exercises at Kim Jong Un’s request.
‘Did he (Kim Jong Un) specifically ask you to reduce them?’ the reporter asked, referring to the joint US-South Korea military exercises.
Instead of answering the question, Trump pointed his finger at the reporter and said: ‘Be quiet! Be quiet! Be quiet! Be quiet!’
‘You are very rude in front of this young man,’ Trump said, turning towards a young boy who was sitting on a sofa during a casual meeting in the Oval Office of the White House. ‘Do you think he was rude?’ the US President asked the boy, while chuckling.
‘Be quiet. What media outlet are you from?’ Trump asked the reporter who had posed the question about Kim Jong Un.
‘I am from CNN,’ the reporter replied. A Variety report identified the reporter as CNN senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes.
‘Fake news,’ Trump retorted.
‘I just wanted to follow up on the question about South Korea,’ the CNN reporter said to Trump.
‘You are fake news. You are a noisy person. You are a noisy and rowdy person. You are fake news,’ Trump told the CNN reporter in front of other journalists at the White House.
Undeterred in front of the US President, the CNN reporter asked again: ‘I just want to know whether you have spoken with Kim Jong Un and whether he asked you…’
Trump cut off the reporter’s question and said: ‘Be quiet, be quiet, be quiet. You are a fake reporter and you report fake news.’
The CNN reporter again posed the same question to Trump: ‘I just want to know whether you have spoken with Kim Jong Un, whether he asked you to reduce the military exercises?’
The US President did not answer the question.
On Sunday (16/8), Trump instructed the Pentagon to ‘significantly reduce’ the joint US-South Korea military exercises, which were scheduled to take place from 17 August to 27 August.
Hours before the exercises began, Trump said via the social media platform Truth Social that he was ‘not happy’ the US had agreed to participate, while highlighting the ‘very good relationship’ between himself and Kim Jong Un.