President Donald Trump stormed out of his “Meet the Press” interview with Kristen Welker, which aired on Sunday, after being asked about the $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” — less than a week after he snapped at CNN’s Kaitlan Collins for asking whether the fund had been killed or put on hold.
“You’re a one-sided, crooked network. Sorry. Let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough. Thank you, darling. Have a good time,” Trump said, before taking off his mic pack.
When Welker tried to keep Trump from leaving the set, Trump said, “I sat in the rain with you for an hour. On and off in the rain, and I’ve given you enough time. You ought to straighten out your press, because you know what? A country can never be great with a dishonest press.” As Trump left his seat, he then patted Welker on the shoulder.
While the entire tantrum has gone viral, one particular line from the interaction has struck a chord: “Thank you, darling.”
Not all sexist language takes the form of explicit insults, linguist Karen Stollznow told HuffPost. Stollznow’s research focuses on the intersection of language, culture and identity. While “darling” is primarily an affectionate nickname, in a professional context like this one, it’s more “patronizing and dismissive,” according to Stollznow.
