President Donald Trump commented on the passing of veteran journalist and pioneering broadcaster Cokie Roberts by calling her a "professional", but adding that she "never treated [him] nicely", CNN reported.
After learning of Roberts' death on Tuesday, Trump spoke from Air Force One and admitted that he never met the journalist in person, though the two shared a tumultuous relationship together.
In reaction to her death, Trump said, "She never treated me nicely. But I would like to wish her family well. She was a professional, and I respect professionals."
He added, "I respect you guys a lot, you people a lot. She was a real professional. Never treated me well, but I certainly respect her as a professional."
Appearing on the MSNBC talk show Morning Joe, Roberts asked the then-presidential hopeful if he was "proud of that?"
"Is that something you've done in American social and political discourse that you are proud of?" she implored, with Trump later replying that he thought her question was "very nasty".
She began her career in the 1960s for local news stations WNEW and KNBC-TV. She would go on to earn tenure at ABC News to become the station's chief congressional analyst, and would also win three Emmys for her work in broadcast television.
She is credited as being one of NPR's "founding mothers" and as a pioneer for her work in breaking down barriers for female journalists.
He called the late journalist "a role model to young women at a time when the profession was still dominated by men; a constant over forty years of a shifting media landscape and changing world, informing voters about he issues of our time and mentoring young journalists every step of the way."
Former President George W. Bush also released a statement memorializing Roberts in which he praised her for being "a talented, tough, and fair reporter."
h/t: CNN
