Reporter speaks out after brutal Donald Trump put-down over son's baseball career

The reporter who was subjected to a brutal put-down from Donald Trump has spoken out after his viral rinsing.

On Friday, Trump had a roundtable with members of the media about issues within college sports and the session became a memorable one after the President's sharp and condescending response to a journalist.

John Fredericks was among those to speak to the 79-year-old and began his question by speaking about his son, a college baseball player.

He started out saying,"As you know, my son Joe is a college baseball player...". But before he could finish his question, Trump immediately interrupted and mocked Fredericks when he said, "How would I know that? He said 'as you know' — I don’t even know who the guy is."

Online, Zack Dean of OutKick wrote that "humiliating reporters on a national stage is Trump's bread and butter".

Fredericks did then continue his question by asking about eligibility in the NCAA system, calling it a "disaster".

Yet the focus was on Trump's reply, which blew up on social media and garnered 2.6 million views on X after it was picked up by television broadcasts.

Some users on social media wondered how Fredericks, a conservative talkshow host was feeling after the savage moment.

The Daily Mail reached out to Fredericks and got his side of the story. The Virginia-based journalist said, "I always enjoy my dialogue with president Trump" and called the moment "light-hearted".

He also added that there was "no offence taken" and clarified that he intended on saying, "as you may know".

Who is John Fredericks' baseball-playing son?

Fredericks' son Joe is a pitcher for the University of Maryland baseball team and according to the official athletics website, he has 18.90 earned run average in five appearances in the 2026 season.

From Washington D.C, he previously attended the Pro5 Academy high school under former MLB pitcher Mike Griffin and was 26th-ranked player in North Carolina and sixth-ranked left-handed pitcher before college. He is majoring in human development.

His father, meanwhile, is an experienced journalist and has campaigned for Trump in 2016, 2020 and 2024.

Fredericks, who owns a plethora of radio stations on 'The John Fredericks Media Network' along with his wife Anna, has also interviewed Trump and been photographed with him.

However despite that, Trump clearly did not feel as though their relationship was particularly close.