Y'all, come get into this 'go awfffff, sis' news for today! So, our girl Abby Phillip, the youngest CNN anchor and journalistic titan, is queen. She is born and raised in the DMV, proudly flies the flag, and is willing to ask the right questions to the right people for the culture (sidebar: she could lowkey be Necole's mini dopplegänger).
Abby began her career at Politico, which led to a reporting gig with The Washington Post. She moved to the Post as a general assignment reporter, but quickly went to the national politics desk, covering Hillary Clinton's campaign and then the Trump administration.
In 2017, although reluctant to leave print journalism, Phillip joined CNN as a reporter. She now hosts CNN's Inside Politics Sunday and was promoted to be the network's senior political correspondent.
So, sis makes some moves, m'kay?!
Additionally, this week The Cut released an interview with her on the cover where she discussed all things about being the media's voice of sanity and clarity. The interview, conducted by fellow-queen, Gayle King, was produced by The Cut's newest Editor-in-Chief, former youngest EIC of Teen Vogue, Lindsay Peoples Wagner. Three black women in high positions, making decisive, boastful moves. Love to see it.
And after four long, long, long, long years of chaos, when the subject of Donald Trump came up, Abby calmly collected his taped-down wig in the most humble way possible. Gayle asked:
"I remember in late 2018, Trump was on his way to going somewhere, and you were part of a gaggle of reporters asking questions. And you asked yours, and he says in response to you that you 'ask a lot of stupid questions.' I was so angry. I heard the word 'stupid' and Abby in the same sentence, and I was so offended by that. And I'm wondering, what do you remember about that moment?"
The moment is below:
Abby explained:
"So this was just after Trump had fired Jeff Sessions, the attorney general, and replaced him with Matt Whitaker — who a lot of people believed was sort of a lackey. My question was, 'Do you want Matt Whitaker to rein in the Mueller investigation?' The thing about questioning Trump is that sometimes he just might answer you truthfully. But I remember being surprised, because he had not reacted to me like that before."
"You struck a nerve," Gayle quipped, and Abby continued:
"He must have thought so. But after that aired, I got calls and texts from girlfriends and colleagues, especially my Black female friends. They were furious about it because of the implication of him telling a Black woman that she's stupid.
"I know that what he said is not true, and I don't take things like that personally, particularly from this president who has such a long history of insulting people. I don't get my self-esteem from Donald Trump or any other politician, frankly."
Chiiiiile, a read! And just the clapback 45 needs in his unemployed life.
The two go on to discuss other subjects such as being a lone black reporter in a male world, her upcoming book on Jesse Jackson's 1988 presidential campaign, and her and hubby having a new baby girl on the way!
The interview ends with Gayle asking what scares her, to which she says, "Expectations."
"All of a sudden, there are people who are saying, 'Oh, I really look up to you. I want to be a journalist because of you.' That's a lot of pressure — which I'm sure you feel, because I bet people say that to you all the time. I look up to you."
But Gayle doesn't leave her hanging. She simply says, "I know, but when they say that — 'I want to be just like you' — I go, 'Nope. What you want is to pave your own path.' So be excellent, Abby."
Spoken like two (three) iconic Black women who may have had parallel careers in journalism, but equally understand the weight and responsibility of this moment. Read the full interview here.
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Featured image by Abby Phillip/Instagram