Donald Trump Calls ABC Reporter 'Sleaze'

Donald Trump Tuesday was biting the media hand that has consistently been feeding him to the public for months.

In a press conference on the money he has raised for veterans, which has drawn questions about whether he has raised all he claimed and did he do it for political purposes, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee took time out to refer to an ABC newsperson in the audience as a "sleaze in my book" after he asked a probing question.

Trump was releasing the figures and names of donors.

He has chafed at questions about the changing figures for how much he raised after staging a fundraiser opposite a GOP debate he skipped.

"Trump just called me a 'sleaze.' Should be an interesting week," tweeted Tom Llamas, who is covering the GOP side of the presidential debate for ABC.

Here is the Trump exchange with Llamas that prompted the "sleaze" label, according to Llamas.

Llamas: "Mr. Trump, writing a $1 million check is incredibly generous, but the night of that Iowa fundraiser you said you raised $6 million. Clearly you had not. Your critics say you tend to exaggerate, you have a problem with the truth. Is this a prime example?"

Trump: "No, I raised almost $6 million. Some of it didn't come through, but more money is coming through than didn't. The number is probably going to be when we finish it, probably over the $6 million."

Univision anchor Jorge Ramos, who had his own run-in with Trump, tweeted following the incident. "Just keep on asking tough questions. And thanks-again-for standing up to Trump when he ejected me from the press conference."

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.