President Donald Trump unleashed a barrage of insults against New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman on Saturday, just hours after she described his health as a "black box" on MSNBC. In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump used his derogatory nickname for Haberman, calling her "Maggot Hagerman" and claiming she has covered him incorrectly for a decade.
"Maggot Hagerman has covered me incorrectly for ten years," Trump wrote. "Her book is a joke! 90% of it is Fake News." He then threatened legal action, saying she "will pay the price when our Multi Billion Dollar Lawsuit against The Failing New York Times gets to Court, which should not be that long."
Haberman's Comments on Trump's Health
Earlier Saturday, Haberman appeared on MSNBC's "The Weekend," where host Jonathan Capehart asked about Trump's mental acuity. Haberman replied that Trump's health is "like a black box inside that administration much more than almost any other issue." She noted that if there is an area of failure in reporting, it has been on his health, including why he has gone to Walter Reed hospital several times with increasingly less information released.
Haberman admitted she did not "feel equipped to answer" the question of Trump's mental acuity but said it is reasonable to question the age of presidential candidates. "I think that people can very legitimately question whether 80-year-old people should be president," she said.
Trump Defends His Health
In response, Trump boasted about his physical condition, claiming he "just finished a perfect physical at Walter Reed." The White House confirmed to HuffPost that Trump was referring to a physical completed in May. He also repeated his claim of having "aced" a cognitive test designed to check for signs of dementia, saying he "got every question right." He challenged Haberman and journalist Jonathan Swan, saying, "Few people in Washington, D.C., could do so, including Maggot and her flunky associate, Jonathan Swan. I would be willing to bet they couldn’t get 50% of the questions right."
Trump's attacks on Haberman are part of a long-running feud with the reporter, who has covered him extensively. He has previously used the nickname "Maggot" and criticized her reporting. The lawsuit threat comes amid ongoing legal battles between Trump and media organizations.
