PBS NewsHour reporter Yamiche Alcindor was once again targeted by President Donald Trump during a press conference.

The president was holding a briefing about COVID-19 on Sunday in the rose garden when Alcindor questioned him about comments he made during an interview with Sean Hannity, according to The Hill.

During the interview with the Fox News anchor, Trump said some governors' requests related to the virus were unnecessary.

“I have a feeling that a lot of the numbers that are being said in some areas are just bigger than they’re going to be,” he said Thursday night. “I don’t believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators. You go into major hospitals sometimes, and they’ll have two ventilators. And now, all of a sudden, they’re saying, ‘Can we order 30,000 ventilators?’”

Before Alcindor could finish her question, she was cut off.

“I didn’t say that,” he said while shaking his head. "Why don't you act in a little more positive? It's always trying to get ya, get ya, get ya. You know what? That's why nobody trusts the media anymore."

The MSNBC political contributor tried to ask her question once again.

“My question to you is, how is that going to impact —,” she said before she was cut off a second time.

“Excuse me. You didn’t hear me,” he continued. "That's why you used to work for the [New York] Times and now you work for somebody else. Look, let me tell you something. Be nice. Don't be threatening."

He eventually did answer her question but said his thoughts about the number of ventilators needed will not impact his response and that the task force is doing an incredible job.

When Alcindor tried to ask a follow-up question, the president said she was taking time away from her fellow journalists, reports the Washington Examiner.

“That’s enough," he said. "That’s not fair to your other reporters. It's not fair. You had a long time, a long question. If we have time, I will get back to you for your second question. Is that okay? Alright? Thank you. I appreciate it."

CNN’s Jeremy Diamond later passed Alcindor the microphone once again, which she thanked him for via Twitter.

She questioned whether the president’s claims that the economic impacts of the pandemic could be worse than the virus outbreak itself could be supported by data.

He told her it was “common sense.”

“You’re going to have massive depression, meaning mental depression. You’re going to have depression in the economy also, but you’re going to have mental depression from people,” Trump replied. “You’re going to have large numbers of suicides. Take a look at what happens in a really horrible recession or worse.”

After the briefing, Alcindor appeared on Morning Joe to discuss the takeaways.

“The other thing I learned, as the president was lashing out at me and other journalists, is that he feels upset about the fact that he has to backtrack on some of the misleading claims that he’s been making,” she said.


This isn’t the first time Trump has lashed out at Alcindor. Earlier this month, he accused the Georgetown University graduate of asking a “nasty” question when she asked if he took responsibility for disbanding the pandemic response team, as Blavity previously reported.

President Trump has shown a trend in condemning Black journalists, which was evident when he attacked three in one week — Alcindor, April Ryan and Abby Phillips. He told Phillips that she asked a “stupid question,” called Ryan “a loser” and said Alcindor’s question was “racist.” Following the exchange of words, many took to social media to show the women support, as Blavity previously reported.

Despite being constantly lambasted by the president, the women continue to ask the important questions. 

Black Female ReportercoronavirusPresident Donald J. TrumpYamiche Alcindor