The mystery of the reporter who hit President Donald Trump in the face with a boom microphone on Friday deepened this week as the NPR reporter named by Laura Loomer as the one who bopped Trump in the face, Danielle Kurtzleben, deleted her X account “@titonka” days after setting it to private just minutes after Loomer published her exposé on the incident on Sunday.
The ten-year NPR veteran Kurtzleben’s byline has not appeared at NPR so far this week. Her last byline was Sunday.
Loomer’s initial post on Sunday has garnered over 8 million views on X:
SCOOP
I have identified the reporter who hit President @realDonaldTrump in the face with a boom mic this week while he was speaking to the press on the tarmac.
Her name is Danielle Kurtzleben @titonka. She is the newly appointed White House reporter for @NPR and a massive… pic.twitter.com/dgViKT8wdA
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) March 16, 2025
Trump had walked over to talk to pool reporters before boarding Air Force One Friday evening at Joint Base Andrews when the boom mic hit his nose and mouth as he was being asked a question about Gaza by another reporter. An annoyed look flashed across Trump’s face, but he then wryly commented, “She just made television tonight. She just became a big story tonight, right? Did you see that?”
Pool video posted by News Nation’s Kellie Meyer. A woman’s voice can be faintly heard saying, “I’m so sorry.”:
President Trump got hit in the face by a boom mic at Joint Base Andrews.
He gave a look and joked “she just became a big story tonight.” pic.twitter.com/5XnwKlkHqb
— Kellie Meyer (@KellieMeyerNews) March 14, 2025
NPR has not responded to a request for comment by TGP, nor has the news outlet made any public comment on the incident by their reporter.
Curiously, the White House Correspondents’ Association has also been silent on the incident.
Likewise, the Secret Service has not commented on whether agents detained Kurtzleben for questioning or tested the boom mic for toxic substances.
No White House reporters, including so-called ‘new media’ reporters, have asked Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt at either Monday’s nor Wednesday’s briefings. Kurtzleben’s fellow reporters appear to be protecting her–the opposite of what would have happened if a Fox News reporter hit Barack Obama or Joe Biden in the face with a boom mic.
The Daily Mail reported Monday that Kurtzleben is “in hiding”, after getting an “out office message” in response to queries to her and no response from NPR.
Kurtzleben’s Substack account is still open, with her last comment on March 8. Her bio reads, “Covering politics for NPR. Sometimes reviewing books. RTs sung to Camptown Ladies. Want me to write for your publication? I don’t blame you. Respond to one of my newsletters or comment on a post and we’ll get cracking.”
The description for Kurtzleben’s Substack page, titled, “This F**king Job”, reads, “A newsletter by a smartass, middle-of-the-pack political reporter, about (1) how the news works and (2) gender politics (especially mmmmmMASCULINITY). And then (3) every so often I just write something to amuse myself.”
A teaser from Kurtzleben’s subscription only Substack article dated October 30, 2024, reads:
You may have heard that Donald Trump recently talked about Arnold Palmer’s penis in a campaign speech.
I certainly did. My brand (which is more or less “penis politics”) is strong, and so once the remark happened, peo…
Might explain how that boom mic ended up in Trump’s face.
The post UPDATE: NPR Reporter Danielle Kurtzleben, Who Says Her Brand is “More or Less P*nis Politics”, Deletes X Account After Named by Laura Loomer for Bopping Trump in Face With Boom Mic appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.