This “stupid” journalist did some math

June 9, 2026

Trump’s freak outs, by the numbers ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

June 9, 2026

Greetings, Meteor readers,

We’re not even going to discuss what happened at Madison Square Garden last night because this city and this team need all of our positive energy right now.

In today’s newsletter, we get nerdy with numbers for the benefit of women journalists. Plus, a horrific man is running for governor in Georgia.

In nomine patris, et filii, et spiritu Brunson,

Shannon Melero

WHAT’S GOING ON

Keeping track: Earlier this week, Donald Trump stormed out of an interview with Meet the Press after accusing journalist Kristen Welker of being “either crooked or stupid.” Welker, the first Black journalist to host Meet the Press, was just doing her job, asking follow-up questions after Trump made an unsubstantiated claim about elections in the U.S. being rigged. As he walked out, Trump also called Welker “darling”; her skin, somehow, did not melt off her body.

This, of course, is not the first time that Trump has insulted a journalist for asking questions. I know because this episode made me so curious that I did something that normally sends a chill up my husband’s spine: I made a spreadsheet.

A search of Trump’s insults toward journalists going back to 2015—when he attacked then-Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly for having “blood coming out of her wherever”—reveals at least 30 reported instances. This research is non-exhaustive; it surfaced only the best-reported cases, and there are surely more. But here’s what the numbers show: Of those 30 instances, two-thirds were directed at women. Given that women make up less than half of political reporters, it’s safe to say the president has a special fondness for insulting women more than men.

The nature of those insults also tells us something. In his known tirades against women journalists, he’s called a quarter of them “dumb” or “stupid.” How many men are dumb and stupid? None. He’s called their coverage stupid, as we’ve seen with CNN’s Jim Acosta, who has been in Trump’s crosshairs since his first term. But it is incredibly rare for the president to refer to a man journalist as stupid, especially to his face.

EMMY, MATRIX, AND NATIONAL PRESS CLUB’S FOURTH ESTATE AWARD-WINNING JOURNALIST KRISTEN WELKER. (VIA GETTY IMAGES)

Trump, of course, also enjoys going after women for their looks. He called Katie Rogers of The New York Times ugly. CNN’s Kaitlan Collins has “hatred in her eyes.” Bloomberg’s Catherine Lucey is a “piggy.”

And when you take a closer look at the data, an even more disturbing pattern emerges: Trump seems especially comfortable insulting Black women journalists. According to data from the Pew Research Center, just five percent of government and politics reporters in the United States are Black. But roughly 36 percent of the incidents we found target Black women reporters. Consider Akayla Gardner of MS Now, who was called “not a smart person” for asking about the rising costs of Trump’s ballroom, and ABC’s Rachel Scott (“one of the worst reporters”), who pressed Trump about his focus on construction projects around DC in the midst of a war with Iran.

So when we say Trump hates Black women, that’s not vibes. That’s data. We’ll be continuing to track these instances for the remainder of Trump’s term. Because the collective memory on how this man treats the fourth estate may be short, but spreadsheets are forever.

AND:

Today’s cringe-sigh combo comes courtesy of Rick Jackson, a Republican gubernatorial candidate in Georgia, who thinks a woman “needs to prove” she was raped in order to be granted an abortion exception under the state’s six-week ban, according to leaked audio sent to HuffPost. This comment is not only logistically absurd—rape cases can take years to prosecute in a court of law, if they’re reported at all—it belies a deep distrust for women. (Not to mention a poor understanding of rape exceptions in abortion bans; in practice, almost no one can get one anyway.)
Yesterday, UN human rights chief Volker Turk called for the U.S. to lift the fuel restrictions and other sanctions in Cuba that are now “directly harming” those on the island. “Children are dying because doctors lack access to essential medical supplies and medicines,” he said. The numbers back this claim up: According to the Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, infant mortality rates have doubled since the restrictions were imposed in January.
Last week, New York City health commissioner Dr. Alister Martin announced a new direct care clinic for transgender people, fulfilling a campaign promise from Mayor Zohran Mamdani. However, journalist Erin Reed reports that the clinic will not treat anyone under 19 years old, “adopting the exact age cutoff from Trump’s anti-trans executive orders.” The trouble is, though, trans youth are the ones who need this care the most.
Note to creep extraordinaire Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton: When your own defense attorney endorses your opponent in your Senate race, it’s time to do some personal reflection.
The 19th dives into the one sport putting in extra work to be trans-inclusive.
Speaking of diving, congrats to this raucous 99-year-old grandma who is now the oldest person ever to crowd-surf (and a special shoutout to her helpful grandson Ross).
Not gonna lie, we are greatly enjoying the cranky comments coming out of Midway, Utah, about the Ballerina Farm store, which stocks products like $150 wooden egg trays.

THIS IS WHAT $259 WILL GET YOU. A BIG OL’ SLAB OF SCALLOPED WOOD. (VIA BALLERINA FARM)

Yikes, not exactly what we had in mind when we said we wanted parenting equality but misery loves company, I guess??
In the criminal justice system, referee-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Knicks Unit. These are their stories.