Trump Lashes Out When Reporter Confronts Him on Melania Movie Price Tag: ‘Who Are You With?’
President Donald Trump insulted a reporter who confronted him on the Melania red carpet over the pricetag for the Amazon MGM Studios bio-doc about First Lady Melania Trump.
The Brett Ratner-directed documentary was screened at the White House, and is set to open this weekend with a $40 million production budget and $35 million promo pricetag to recoup. But early indications are that the film will open weakly and falter from there.
President and Mrs. Trump and a host of pro-Trump figures strolled the black carpet at the film’s premiere Thursday night at the Kennedy Center posing for pictures and taking questions from reporters.
At one point, New York Times White House Correspondent Shawn McCreesh confronted Trump over suggestions that the “exorbitant” fee for the film amounts to a bribe, and Trump attacked his paper:
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: And we’ll see what happens. It’s in the process.
NEW YORK TIMES WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT SHAWN MCCREESH: Mr. President, Amazon paid $75 million to make and market this film. It’s an exorbitant fee. Many Americans think that this is maybe Jeff Bezos trying to get in good with you, and they would call it an act of corporate corruption. Who are you with? The New York Times.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: (SCOFFS) The New York Times! The fake news New York Times!
No, I don’t know, I mean, I don’t know really, I’m not involved in that. That was done with my wife.
I think it’s going to be, I think, it’s a very important movie. I think its really going to very important. It shows life in the White House. It’s a big deal, actually.
Several minutes later, another reporter asked about the criticism, and this time, Trump lashed out at former President Barack Obama:
REPORTER: Mr.President, what do you say to those that are critical of the fact that Amazon paid $40 million dollars to acquire the rights of this movie?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Well, I think they’d have to go and ask President Obama who got paid a lot of money and hasn’t done anything.
So I think you’d probably have to because if you take a look at others they’ve been paid a LOT of money.
But this is somebody, Melania, who really produced it. She’s done a great thing. This is a very important piece of work.
Watch above via Pool.
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