Angry Trump Throws Reporter's Phones Over Questions About Hush Money Investigation

Donald Trump allegedly tossed a reporter's phones for asking the former president questions about Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's hush-money probe, according to a report.

NBC News reporter Vaughn Hillyard was one of several reporters who joined Trump on his plane following a campaign rally in Waco, Texas, in March when he asked the real estate mogul if he was "frustrated" by the investigation, Vanity Fair reported.

Trump told the reporter not to ask any more questions, but Hillyard continued to press him for answers, which led to the ex-president grabbing the reporter's two phones and throwing them to the side, an unnamed source familiar with the matter told the publication.

The incident occurred a few days before Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on charges related to hush money allegedly paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the run-up to the 2016 elections in exchange for her silence on her alleged 2006 sexual encounter with the former president.

Some of Trump's comments on the plane were previously reported by The Guardian, such as when he called the hush-money investigation a "fake case" that "they've already dropped." The outlet also noted in its report that the former president exhibited erratic behavior toward Hillyard when asked if he was frustrated by the probe.

Trump denied it, telling Hillyard: "This is fake news, and NBC is one of the worst. Don't ask me any more questions."

Hillyard's questions centered on Trump's posts on his Truth Social at the time in which he warned that there could be "potential death and destruction" if he was indicted.

When the NBC News reporter tried to clarify Trump's "version of events" on the DA's investigation, the former president said that he didn't want to talk to him, according to Vanity Fair.

"Do you hear me? You're not a nice guy," Trump reportedly told Hillyard before turning to another reporter to take a question.

When Hillyard tried once again to get a response, Trump allegedly signaled to his aides to "get him out of here."

Trump picked up two of the phones recording the gaggle, and when Hillyard confirmed that they were his, the ex-president allegedly tossed the devices onto the empty seat next to him. Vanity Fair said it obtained a recording in which the thud of one of the phones hitting a surface can be heard.

Other members of the press who were present at the time were Sophia Cai of Axios, Rob Crilly of the Daily Mail, Brian Glenn of RSBN, and Evan Vucci of the Associated Press.

Hugo Lowell of The Guardian was also supposed to join the former president on the plane at the time but was kicked out a day before because of a story he'd written about a money-laundering investigation into Truth Social.

"The Guardian obtained the recording [of Trump's remarks on the plane] after this reporter, confirmed to travel with the former president, was bumped off the manifest the day before the trip over recent reporting that the campaign disliked," Lowell wrote in his report on Trump's alleged tirade about Bragg's investigation against him.