“One Badass Lady”

When Mary Bruce stood in the Oval Office and asked the uncomfortable questions about conflict of interest ties with Saudi Arabia, about the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, and about the hidden files of Jeffrey Epstein, she did not ask to provoke, but to illuminate. In return, Donald Trump lashed out. He mocked her, denounced her network as fake, and publicly called for the broadcast license of ABC News to be revoked.

Her composure in that moment matters. It sends a clear signal: accountability journalism is not optional when power is on the line. It is essential. And the reaction that followed is just as important. When the leaders of a democracy threaten to punish the press for doing their job, the integrity of that democracy itself is at stake.

Credit where it is due. Mary Bruce reminded the country that courage today often wears a press badge and a microphone. The deeper truth is that this moment was never just about one question or one reporter. It was about whether a free press can still ask what must be asked without fear of retaliation.

– Tony Pentimalli
via social media
November 19, 2025

Mary Bruce is one badass lady. She is a journalist in America. And she asked a murderous autocrat about how he had killed another journalist. . . . And she did it in front of the wannabe murderous dictator of her own country. Give HER the medal of Freedom, not Charlie Kirk.

And I love how she did it, standing next to all these eunuchs.

– Gerald Weaver
via social media
November 20, 2025

Related Off-site Links:
Trump Threatens ABC’s Broadcast License Again After Reporter Mary Bruce Questions Saudi Crown Prince About Khashoggi Murder – Brad Reed (Common Dreams, November 18, 2025).
7 Years After Khashoggi Murder, Trump to Reward Saudi Crown Prince With Sale of F-35s – Jake Johnson (Common Dreams, November 18, 2025).
ABC Reporter Mary Bruce Stands Up to Trump: Tough Questions Spark Dictator-Style Rage – The Mayday Network, November 18, 2025).
After “Disgusting Display” at White House, Rep. Ilhan Omar Says Congress Must Stop Trump Sale of F-35s to Saudis – Jake Johnson (Common Dreams, November 19, 2025).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• “People Are Sick of the Bullshit”
• The Exception to the Rulers
• Now Here’s a Voice I’d Like to Hear Regularly on the Sunday Morning Talk Shows