It started as a straightforward press exchange at a renovation site. It ended with accusations, lip readers, and a fresh wave of outrage on social media.
On Thursday, Trump visited the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool currently undergoing a makeover when ABC's Rachel Scott stepped up with her question. "Mr. President, you are here against the backdrop of a war in Iran. Why focus on all these projects right now? We're still seeing gas prices soar," she asked.
Trump, 79, didn't take it well.
He interrupted her almost immediately, launching into a defense of the renovation work. "This place was a disgusting place," he said, referring to the monument grounds. "The Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial we had dirt, terrible dirt. I don't know, you probably don't see dirt, but I do."
He then went further, making it personal. "Such a stupid question. We're fixing up the reflecting pond and you're asking why? She's with ABC fake news, and she's a horror show. A question like that is a disgrace to our country."
The Moment the Microphones Missed
As journalists were being walked away from the area, something else happened. Cameras captured Trump pointing in the direction of the press, shaking his head, and saying something to the people around him. The audio didn't catch it but the visuals told a story of their own.
Jeremy Freeman, a forensic expert witness and lip reader who has been deaf from birth, watched the footage carefully. His conclusion was direct: "I can confirm that Trump said, 'She's a bitch there.'"
A second lip reader, Nicola Hickling also profoundly deaf reviewed the same footage and reached the same verdict, though she took time to explain just how complex lip reading can be in situations like this.
The Science Behind the Lip Reading
Hickling broke down the technical challenges in a statement to The Mirror US. Certain sounds, she explained, create what's called "homophenous overlap" meaning they look nearly identical on the lips even though they're completely different words.
The word in question, she noted, starts with a "B" sound, which is formed by both lips pressing together before releasing. The problem? The same mouth movement also produces "P" and "M" sounds. So visually, the word could look like "pitch," "mitt," or similar alternatives.
She also pointed out that the middle vowel is hard to distinguish visually, and even the ending sound offers only "partial" visual cues through lip tension and narrowing of the mouth.
"Professional lip reading doesn't rely on mouth shape alone," she explained. "Context, facial expression, timing, sentence structure, body language, and the overall conversational setting are all weighed together before drawing any conclusion."
With all of those factors taken into account, Hickling stood by her reading. "Due to the context of what was said beforehand, I believe Trump says the word bitch," she confirmed.
Social Media Reacts
The clip spread fast, and the reactions ranged from disbelief to dark humor.
One user on X put it bluntly: "As a country, we've become really desensitized to how much of an embarrassment Trump is on a daily basis. Obama wore a tan suit and it was a cable news scandal for a week."
Another tied the moment to a broader frustration: "Gold ballrooms, treason planes, Trump coins, crypto and now his face on our passports. All this while Americans are suffering and grocery prices are through the roof."
A third observer offered a more psychological take: "Disinhibition. His true self is just shining through in more public settings."
Scott's Response
Rachel Scott didn't stay quiet either. She posted the video of the exchange on X along with her own account of what happened.
"I asked the president why focus on these projects now amid the backdrop of the war in Iran and as gas prices soar," she wrote. "He said the question was 'stupid' and a 'disgrace to the country,' saying he's 'fixing' the reflecting pool."
The White House has not yet responded to requests for comment on the lip readers' findings.
Whether or not the word was actually spoken, the broader exchange has renewed debate about how the current administration handles press interactions and what kind of conduct the public has quietly come to expect from its president.
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