After the confrontation was reported publicly, Pompeo stayed on the attack, saying in a statement that his interaction with Kelly was “another example of how unhinged the media has become in its quest to hurt President Trump and this administration.” The statement also suggested indirectly that Kelly had identified the wrong country — a ludicrous claim given her master’s degree in European studies.

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During an event at the White House, Pompeo earned loud applause when President Trump introduced him.

“That was very impressive, Mike,” Trump said in response. “That reporter couldn’t have done too good a job on you yesterday, huh? I think you did a good job on her, actually.”

Pompeo is known for being confrontational with news outlets. On a number of occasions, he has chastised interviewers — often women — for questions they have asked. In October, for example, he accused a local reporter in Tennessee of “working at least in part for the Democratic National Committee” after she asked about his familiarity with the Ukraine scandal at the heart of the impeachment trial.

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Trump, of course, has his own track record of contentious interactions with reporters — and, again, often with women.

Four years ago Monday, in fact, Trump used Twitter to attack Megyn Kelly, then with Fox News.

The next day, he retweeted a follower who referred to Kelly as a bimbo as the user questioned whether she should be allowed to interview presidential candidates.

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Why was Trump expressing hostility to Megyn Kelly? Because on Jan. 28, 2016, a Republican primary debate would air on Fox News. The network had selected Kelly as a moderator despite a dust-up between her and Trump the previous summer.

That dust-up resulted from a question Kelly asked Trump during the first Republican debate, on Aug. 6, 2015.

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“Mr. Trump,” she asked, “one of the things people love about you is you speak your mind and you don’t use a politician’s filter. However, that is not without its downsides, in particular, when it comes to women. You’ve called women you don’t like ‘fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals.’ ”

Over laughter, Trump interjected: “Only Rosie O’Donnell.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Kelly replied. “For the record, it was well beyond Rosie O’Donnell.”

“Yes, I’m sure it was,” Trump said. After Kelly listed some examples, Trump rationalized his behavior.

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“I think the big problem this country has,” he said, “is being politically correct.”

Five months later, Kelly would be the one facing gender-focused attacks by Trump. Since he was inaugurated, there have been a number of other examples of Trump challenging female reporters in strongly pejorative terms.

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Trump would probably have praised Pompeo’s approach to NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly regardless of her gender. When conservative commentator Mark Levin celebrated Pompeo’s response to her by questioning why the radio network received federal funding, Trump elevated the question, attacking NPR broadly.

That tweet came shortly before Pompeo denied another NPR reporter (also a woman) participation as part of the press pool in an upcoming State Department trip.

Trump’s own record, though, and the phrasing of his praise for Pompeo exacerbate the questions about his approach to women that Megyn Kelly raised in August 2015. In April 2018, Quinnipiac University asked poll respondents whether they thought Trump treated women with the same amount of respect as he does men. Sixty percent of respondents said he doesn’t. There is a correlated political effect: Since Trump announced his candidacy, support for his party among college-educated white women has plunged.

At the White House on Tuesday, though, the reaction to Trump’s comments to Pompeo was less negative. The audience laughed a bit, mixing appreciation with a can-he-say-that? tinge.