By Katherine Tinsley
3:16am PDT, May 23, 2025
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Donald Trump exploded after NBC News' Peter Alexander questioned his decision to accept a
$400 million luxury plane from Qatar's royal family.
"Why are you talking about that? What are you asking that for? You know, you oughta get out of here," Trump yelled at the journalist.
"What does this have to do with the Qatar jet?" Trump continued, referencing the meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who was seated beside him. "They're giving the United States Air Force a jet. Okay? And it's a great thing."
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Donald Trump later attacked Peter Alexander's credibility.
"We're talking about a lot of other things. Is NBC trying to get off the subject of what you just saw?" he asked.
"You are a real — you know, you're a terrible reporter," the president continued. "Number one, you don't have what it takes to be a reporter. You're not smart enough."
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Donald Trump, who has been a vocal critic of legacy media organizations, later threw jabs at Peter Alexander's employer.
"You ought to go back to your studio at NBC, because [Comcast Chairman] Brian Roberts and the people that run that place, they ought to be investigated," he said.
"They are so terrible the way they run that network," he claimed.
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Donald Trump stopped Peter Alexander from asking follow-up questions about the alleged "genocide" in South Africa, calling the reporter "a disgrace."
"His name is Peter something. He's a terrible reporter," the president said in a room full of Alexander's peers.
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Despite the scrutiny, Peter Alexander was committed to questioning Donald Trump's claims.
"If they're committing genocide, why invite [Ramaphosa] to the White House?" Alexander asked, as South African President Cyril Ramaphosa sat beside Trump.
"Quiet, quiet," the commander-in-chief angrily replied.
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Donald Trump later accused the media of ignoring the "genocide" occurring in South Africa, even though a judge from the country called the claim "clearly imagined" and "not real."
"If the news wasn't fake, like NBC, which is fake news … if they weren't fake news like this jerk that we have here," the real estate tycoon said while pointing to Peter Alexander. "If we had real reporters, they'd be covering it."
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According to Donald Trump, white farmers in South Africa are being targeted. However, the
BBC reported there were 26,232 murders in the country last year, and of that group, only eight were farmers.
The outlet also reported that the data doesn't specify race.
"There are all white farmers being buried and he asks about a jet that was given. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. You are so bad, you're such a bad reporter," Trump told Peter Alexander.
"'So why did they give us a plane to the United States Air Force?'" Trump continued, mocking Peter Alexander. "That's what that idiot talks about after viewing a thing where thousands of people are dead."
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Following the spat with Peter Alexander, Cyril Ramaphosa joked about Donald Trump's luxury jet: "I'm sorry I don't have a plane to give you," the South African president said.
"I wish you did," Trump replied. "If your country offered the United States Air Force a plane, I would take it."
