Donald Trump is back in the headlines for dismissing a reporter with insulting comments. On Wednesday, the president snapped back at a female reporter after she contested Trump’s claim of vote fraud.
As reported by The Daily Beast, when Trump came out of the White House on his way to Cincinnati, when he talked with several White House Correspondents. Trump was then interviewed by Liz Landers, a PBS NewsHour and White House correspondent, who asked him about the federal grand jury subpoena by the FBI regarding the 2020 Maricopa County elections.
Landers asked, “In Arizona, why did the FBI seize election records in that state?” To which Trump responded, “Well, they probably thought the election was rigged, right?”
LANDERS: Why’d the FBI seize election records in AZ?
TRUMP: They probably thought the election was rigged
L: It wasn’t though
T: How do you know?
L: Your own AG said it
T: If you say it wasn’t rigged, you’re a rotten reporter
L: Where’s evidence? pic.twitter.com/qzGpPu25Ua
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 11, 2026
After this, a back-and-forth happened between them, with Landers saying, “Really? How do you know?” She also added, “Your own attorney general in 2020 said that there was no measurable voter fraud.”
Trump then remarked, “Oh, really? You don’t think it was rigged? I think it was rigged. And if you say it wasn’t rigged, then you’re a rotten reporter.”
This comes from an ongoing claim of vote fraud tied to a controversial audit conducted by Cyber Ninjas. They were an independent party hired by the Republican-led Arizona Senate of that time, as explained by NBC News.
Former Attorney General Bill Barr, who served under Trump in his first presidential term, denied a possible fraud. As written by The Daily Beast, Barr stated in 2020 that the Department of Justice has “not seen fraud on a scale that could have affected a different outcome in the election.”
Doug Ducey, a Republican and Arizona’s governor at the time, had previously asserted his state’s elections to be secure on X. He wrote, “I’ve been pretty outspoken about Arizona’s election system, and bragged about it quite a bit, including in the Oval Office.”
No official proof has surfaced that can point towards widespread fraud. Many, including Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, condemned the subpoena, as reported by Democracy Docket.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs called the FBI’s subpoena of Maricopa County’s 2020 election records an attempt to undermine trust in elections:
“Arizona’s elections are free, fair, and secure, which numerous lawsuits and even the Arizona Senate’s ‘audit’ into the 2020 election results…
— Democracy Docket (@DemocracyDocket) March 11, 2026
Trump’s behavior towards female reporters is also getting called out. He had previously made remarks about CNN’s Kaitlan Collins not smiling when she asked him about the Epstein files. Trump called her “the worst reporter,” and further proclaimed, “No wonder. CNN has no ratings because of people like you. She’s a young woman. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile. I’ve known you for 10 years. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smile on your face.”
The subpoena is not the only thing; the FBI has even conducted a raid in Fulton County. Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence, was also seen present at the site, further drawing scrutiny.
