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By Hannah Parry and Joshua Rhett Miller
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White House correspondent Andrew Feinberg is hitting back after President Donald Trump branded him a "sick person" during a heated Oval Office exchange.
Feinberg, who reports for The Independent, responded on X after Trump singled him out during a question-and-answer session at the White House on Tuesday.
"Mr. Vice President, if you’re going to insult me at least have the guts to tag my account," Feinberg wrote while addressing JD Vance after the vice president shared a clip of the exchange, claiming the president had upbraided the "imbecile" journalist for misbehaving in the Oval Office.
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The clash occurred during a lengthy press appearance as Trump fielded questions from reporters on a range of domestic and international issues, with Feinberg preparing to ask the president about his numerous golf courses, video shows.
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"What's wrong with you? Are you a sick person?" Trump said, apparently directing the remark at Feinberg.
The president then doubled down, adding: "I actually think there's something wrong with you."
Earlier in the exchange, Trump had snapped at Feinberg: "Hey! I don't know who the hell you are, but you better be careful."
In a separate post on X, Feinberg claimed he had told Trump "exactly who" he was roughly five minutes before the interaction.
"He should have kicked you out of the Oval," one user told Feinberg in response.
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The tense exchange followed a White House event announcing a $25 million fraud whistleblower incentive program, which would offer rewards up to $30,000 to people who provide information leading to the recovery of taxpayer money.
Trump, 80, has repeatedly clashed with journalists during his presidency, at times resorting to personal attacks when challenged over policies or prior public statements.
Feinberg, who has worked as *The Independent'*s White House correspondent since 2022, has previously worked for Newsweek. He declined further comment when reached by phone late Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Feinberg reported that he was removed as the print pool reporter for Trump's Thursday trip to Iowa.
"I am a highly energetic, fearless journalist with extensive experience reporting on and analyzing the myriad issues that arise on the White House and Capitol Hill beats," Feinberg's LinkedIn profile reads. "If it has happened in Washington, I have written about it. Whether it is breaking news or crafting conceptual scoops, I have built a reputation for punching above my weight and helping the publications I've written for stand out from the crowd when it matters."
In April, Feinberg reported he had a brief telephone interview with Trump, with the president declining to indicate Washington's response if Iranian forces captured the Air Force colonel who was shot down in Iran.
"Well, I can't comment on it because—we hope that's not going to happen," Trump told Feinberg before ending the call.
U.S. forces later rescued both aviators as part of "one of the most daring search and rescue operations" in history, according to Trump's account of the complicated extraction mission.
White House officials, meanwhile, chastised Feinberg for his "disgraceful behavior" in a post on X late Tuesday while using a widely condemned slur.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Samantha Beech, Edward T. Cummins and Jennifer Radcliffe.
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