In a moment that underscored his increasingly aggressive stance toward the media, President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that journalists critical of him might soon find themselves on the wrong side of the law.
“Maybe they’ll have to go after you,” Trump told an ABC reporter, after accusing the journalist of harboring “a lot of hate in your heart.” The remark came during a tense exchange following a question about Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s controversial claim that certain types of “hate speech” could potentially be prosecuted.
This wasn’t just another offhand Trump jab at the media. The president seemed to be linking negative news coverage directly to hate speech—an alarming shift in rhetoric that suggests he may push for legal consequences for journalists who criticize him.
He pointed to a $16 million defamation settlement ABC made earlier this year as validation. “A form of hate speech,” Trump said, framing the payout as a precedent for punishing media outlets that cross him.
The incident was followed by Trump boasting of his ongoing legal war with major news organizations. Just this week, he filed a lawsuit against The New York Times, claiming the paper acts as a “virtual mouthpiece” for the Democratic Party and is demanding an eye-popping $15 billion in damages.
“We want everything to be fair,” Trump said. “It hasn’t been fair.”
It’s the latest in a pattern of legal and rhetorical attacks on the press—a strategy Trump has leaned into with renewed intensity. The line between political critique and authoritarian threat is starting to blur.
In a separate exchange, he shifted gears to national security, revealing details of a recent U.S. military operation targeting alleged drug traffickers from Venezuela. Trump claimed that three boats tied to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua were hit—two of which had previously been confirmed by the administration.
“We knocked off three boats, actually, not two. But you saw two,” he said.
According to the government, one strike on September 2 killed 11 people. A second strike announced on Truth Social earlier this week reportedly killed three more. Trump’s assertion of a third, previously undisclosed strike raises questions about transparency and oversight of these operations.
Asked about Venezuela’s objections to continued U.S. military action, Trump offered a blunt message: “Well I would say this: right away, stop sending Tren de Aragua into the United States. Stop sending drugs into the United States.”
He added: “The problem is there are very few boats out on the water. There are not a lot of boats out on the water. I can’t imagine why. Not even fishing boats.”
Watch the clip below:
