“You’re Fake News”: Trump Erupts in Oval Office When Asked About Firing Jeanine Pirro

President Donald Trump erupted at a reporter in the Oval Office on Monday after being pressed on whether he might fire U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro. The question came right after he spent several minutes criticizing her decision to drop a felony vandalism case tied to damage at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Pirro’s office filed a motion on Friday seeking to dismiss the charges against three-time Olympian David Hearn. The filing conceded that the peeling liner and other problems with the roughly $16 million renovation resulted from flawed installation by the contractor, not intentional damage. A National Park Service engineer had already noted peeling around the edge of the pool on June 11, eight days before Hearn was even at the site. No government witness could tie any of the damage to him.

Trump had spent weeks insisting the pool was vandalized. He told reporters he has photographs and video showing people on the side cutting the new liner with a box knife. “Jeanine Pirro made a mistake,” he said. “It was vandalism!”

He went further, saying she had “choked” because the judge in the case was “really vicious.” Instead of going after the people who did the damage, Trump claimed, the judge went after Pirro and her department. “I was disappointed with Jeanine Pirro. Really disappointed with Jeanine Pirro. She folded like an umbrella, and people get away with things, and it’s a disgrace.”

When a reporter then asked whether he was reconsidering Pirro’s role, Trump snapped. “You’re fake news. Don’t ever talk again. You’re fake news. One of the worst in the business. Fortunately, nobody watches you.”

CNN reported that Trump had been furious all weekend after being blindsided by the court filing and that sources described her possible removal as highly likely. Their Saturday phone call was described as not pretty. Federal judges had already knocked down nearly a dozen of Pirro’s earlier gun cases as unconstitutional, and her office had won only half of its first eight criminal trials in 2026.

Hearn’s attorney, Michael Bromwich, said nothing is off the table for his client’s legal options, including bar referrals, inspector general complaints, and lawsuits.