Trump Reportedly Berated George Stephanopoulos Over ‘Eight F*cking Follow-Ups’ About Russia and Putin, Demanded He ‘F*cking Fix it in the Edit’

 
Stephanopoulos Trump

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Then-presidential candidate Donald Trump berated ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos in 2016 over asking “eight fucking follow-ups” about Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, according to a report.

CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy reported on Wednesday excerpts of New York Times senior political reporter and CNN analyst Maggie Haberman’s upcoming book, Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America.

Following Stephanopoulos’ interview with Trump, “Trump summoned an ABC producer into a small area away from the cameras, where Trump was surrounded by Secret Service agents, and snarled, ‘That was bullshit,’” according to Haberman.

“The producer, John Santucci, asked which part of the interview he meant. ‘Russia,’ Trump replied. ‘Eight fucking follow-ups—are you fucking kidding me?’ he thundered. ‘It’s like asking me if I beat my wife. You ask me once, I say ‘Fuck no,’ and we move on. You don’t then ask if I hit her with a fucking baseball bat or a fucking golf club! That was bullshit and you better fucking fix it in the edit,’” she wrote.

“Then Trump called for Stephanopoulos to join them,” continued Haberman. “When Trump mentioned Russia, Stephanopoulos chuckled, saying, ‘I know, my team says I didn’t ask you enough about it.’ Trump exploded. ‘Are you fucking kidding me! Eighteen fucking follow-ups—how many different ways do I have to say I don’t know the guy?’ he said, before eventually stalking off.”

ABC News declined to comment to CNN.

The Trump campaign was accused of colluding with Russia. A two-year special counsel investigation led by former FBI Director Robert Mueller determined there was no evidence to support the charge.

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