A Note to Readers: This piece was originally published on NewsOne, September 14, 2026.
There’s something about journalist Rachel Scott that makes angry white men think that “freedom of the press” means aggressively invading her space.
Five years ago, Scott, then an ABC News congressional correspondent, was standing outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, surrounded by a sea of white Trump supporters as they stormed the building. The crowd cursed at journalists, called them “fake news” and “enemy of the press,” and hurled racial and sexist epithets at her.
I interviewed Scott almost three years ago about the incident. She told me how one white man tried to tackle her. Fortunately, security stopped him. And then, he came at her again. Scott kept reporting.
She also told me something I have never forgotten. Her grandfather had given her a piece of advice that she carried into journalism: “Take up space. You are meant to exist anywhere you want to be,” he told her, “regardless if you see yourself represented there or not.”
Five years have passed since the Capitol insurrection, and she is still taking up space.
Last week Scott was standing on an airport tarmac in Dallas doing exactly what her grandfather told her to do when another white man moved aggressively into her space. This time, it was the president of the United States.
Scott was questioning Donald Trump about his promise to give American adults $5,000 if Republicans retain control of Congress after the midterms, a proposal that could cost taxpayers more than $1 trillion and would require congressional approval. Her question was Journalism 101.
With the national debt around $40 trillion, Scott asked, if Trump’s economic policies are working, why does he need to offer people an incentive to turn out to vote?
Trump rejected her premise. “I didn’t do it for turning out the vote,” he said. “It’s almost a reward for the people having to put up with Biden’s policy.”
Scott pressed again, reminding the president that he had made similar promises to deliver checks before, including tariff refund payments that still haven’t been paid.
Trump had enough. He leaned his large, menacing body toward Scott, and snapped, “Not you. Not you. You’re the worst.”
Not. You.
Continue reading the rest of my commentary on NewsOne ** here**.
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THIS CONTENT IS WRITTEN IN THE AUTHOR’S PERSONAL CAPACITY. ANY OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE THE AUTHOR’S OWN AND SHOULD NOT BE ATTRIBUTED TO HOWARD UNIVERSITY OR MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY.
