‘Just Cringe’: Trump Official Throws a Fit After His Racist Attack Against the Same Senator Trump Called a ‘Nasty Woman’ Doesn’t Make It to Print
Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte ignited another clash with the media this week, publicly attacking a reporter for omitting part of a racially charged attack on Sen. Elizabeth Warren, even as his aggressive pursuit of President Donald Trump’s political foes continues to spur legal and ethical concerns. The uproar began after Punchbowl News quoted Pulte accusing Warren of “faking an understanding of mortgage finance.” He angrily complained the reporter omitted his additional allegation that Warren “faked her Native American heritage.” William Pulte, nominee for Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency testifies at a hearing of the Senate Banking Committee on February 27, 2025 at the Dirksen Senate Building in Washington, DC. The committee is hearing testimony from nominees for various Economic and Housing positions in the Trump administration. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images) “It’s really sad to see the state of ‘journalism,’” Pulte wrote on X. “They include quotes from Democrats attacking me but leave out my quote where I said this about Elizabeth Warren, ‘Elizabeth Warren is faking an understanding of mortgage finance just like she faked her Native American heritage.’” Brendan Pedersen, the Punchbowl reporter, offered a pointed reply. “We included the part of the quote that met our editorial standards for relevancy, not the racial commentary. Thank you for your readership, Mr. Pulte,” he wrote. ‘What Is He Talking About?’: Trump’s Latest ‘Unpresidential’ Attack Backfires When His Dig at Biden Turns Out to Be an Entirely Made-Up Story in His Head Pulte sense of awareness seemed to be lost but online critics didn't hold back. "This is the equivalent of repeating a joke to a group of people because you thought they didn’t hear the punch line. You’re just cringe bro," wrote one user on X. https://twitter.com/pulte/status/1982592783543333093 Another added, "It's both bizarre and delusional for someone to act as you do - reckless, hasty, inflammatory, agitative - and then complain that you're being treated unfairly. Perhaps it's this delusion that attracts meme stock speculators of a similar mindset." "You really thought you cooked here? Didn’t Bessent beat your a**?" another mocked. Trump's own history of inflammatory remarks against Warren sets a poor standard. Trump has publicly called Warren a "nasty woman" and for over a year repeatedly referred to her as "Pocahontas". A racist tradition, Pulte tried to carry on. https://twitter.com/BrendanPedersen/status/1982790767916532096 One user captured the standard of Trump's administration. "Is there like a report card of how may public insults you sent during the quarter and you’re not meeting quota? They were giving you grace - it’s embarrassing to want to sneak in constant jabs while being a in a position of power." To Warren's credit, she managed to slip in an epic response to Trump last week on the senate floor. View on Threads Pulte’s combative rhetoric accompanies his potential overreach of federal power. In recent months, he has probed mortgage paperwork filed by Democrats, including Sen. Adam Schiff, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, flagging routine clerical mistakes as alleged fraud. Department of Justice prosecutors have pursued some of the referrals and have indicted James. Legal experts expect the cases to falter. Those investigations follow a long pattern of scorched-earth feuds playing out both online and in courtrooms. Before targeting Trump’s adversaries, Pulte fixated on his own family. He accused his grandfather’s widow of insider trading, a feud that rippled through PulteGroup, the multibillion-dollar homebuilding powerhouse founded by his grandfather. He also allegedly helped run a website calling an aunt a “fake Christian” and publicly attacked another relative as “a fat slob,” “weirdo” and “grifter,” according to The Associated Press, citing litigation records. That history would ordinarily chill an appointment to lead the agency that oversees the backbone of the nation’s mortgage market. The Trump administration instead embraced Pulte’s theatrics. A White House spokesperson defended the prosecutions linked to his referrals, saying, “anyone who engages in criminal activity should be held accountable. No one is above the law. President Trump’s only retribution is success and historic achievements for the American people.” Pulte's family legal squabbles suddenly went dark after Trump’s election. Pulte deleted thousands of posts, dropped his lawsuit, and shortly afterward was nominated to run the FHFA. He and his wife have donated about $1 million to Trump’s political operations. The Senate confirmed him in March. Since then, the agency’s investigative powers have become extensions of Trump’s grievances. Pulte’s referrals focus almost exclusively on political opponents. Schiff, James and Cook deny wrongdoing. He refuses to apply similar scrutiny to Trump-aligned officials, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The indictment of James sparked celebration from Pulte’s account. He reposted praise and wrote: “If you know of anyone who has committed mortgage fraud, please send any and all tips to FraudTips@fhfa.gov.” As for criticism, he remains defiant. After AP contacted him for comment, Pulte wrote on X, “‘The AP’, because we expose alleged Mortgage Fraudsters, is writing a hit piece, filled with falsehoods,” then deleted the post. His agency issued its own rebuttal, calling the developing story a “hit piece” and asserting that “Mr. Pulte did give away $1 million on Twitter.”
