ABC White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl responded to President Donald Trump’s criticism of his reporting Tuesday, saying he doesn’t care if the president insults him.
The president attacked Karl as a “third-rate reporter” during a coronavirus press briefing Monday evening. (RELATED: FLASHBACK: Jan. 21: Fauci Says Coronavirus ‘Not A Major Threat’ To U.S.)
“I was furious when he called you a third-rate reporter,” The View co-host Joy Behar told Karl. “I wanted you to say ‘no darling you are a third rate president.'”
Behar added that she would like to see Karl and his colleagues walk out of the press briefing in protest.
Karl responded that it was not his job to get into a back and forth with Trump, and added that he did not want his interactions with the president to become a major story. (RELATED: Why Trump’s Approval Ratings Are Currently High And How That Could Change)
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“I understand what you’re saying, but that’s something that I would never do. I think it is my job to report on what is happening there, to ask the questions,” Karl said. “By the way, I was following up on a question from a Fox News reporter when he decided to lash out at me. I think that is my job.”
“Look, he can insult me all he wants. I don’t care. It doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t matter. What matters is getting to the bottom of what is happening with the federal response and how people should be responding to this crisis. That’s the story,” Karl continued.
Karl also said that he doesn’t go to the press conferences just to ask the president questions, but also to question members of the White House’s coronavirus task force, including Dr. Anthony Fauci. Karl appeared to salute Fauci at the end of Monday’s press conference, and Fauci responded with a thumbs up in a video that went viral Tuesday.