ABC News' Chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl has never shied away from telling it like it is, but his latest revelations about his relationship with Donald Trump after the 2024 election might just be his most candid yet. Appearing on The View on October 28, 2025, Karl gave viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the moments following Trump’s dramatic return to the White House, recounting a phone call that was equal parts surreal and revealing. The conversation, which took place in the early hours after Trump’s 2024 election victory, has become a focal point in Karl’s new book, Retribution, which chronicles Trump’s political comeback and the tumultuous campaign that led him back to power.
Karl’s account begins in the tense days following the July 2024 assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania—a moment that, as Karl shared, forged an unexpected bond between journalist and president-elect. “I started to have a series of phone calls and conversations with Trump shortly after the assassination attempt,” Karl told the co-hosts of The View, according to ABC News. The gravity of that event, Karl explained, led him to reach out to Trump and express his concern. “I told him I was horrified by what happened and wanted to make sure he was OK.”
Fast forward to election night in November 2024. After a long night of coverage and a stint on Good Morning America, Karl decided to do something on a whim: call Donald Trump and offer his congratulations. “I call Donald Trump, I mean there is no way he’s going to pick up, but I figured I would just leave him a message, ‘After all this, congratulations, you won. You know, you won,’” Karl recounted. But, to his surprise, Trump answered. “His voice, he hadn’t slept at all. I hadn’t slept,” Karl said, painting a picture of two exhausted men, both running on adrenaline.
What happened next was, as Karl described, straight out of a television drama. “I said, ‘Mr. President-elect, I just want to say congratulations.’ And he pauses,” Karl told the audience. Trump, never one to let a moment pass without a flourish, pressed Karl: “‘On what, Jonathan? On what? Say it,’” mimicking the memorable line from Breaking Bad’s Walter White. “So I said, ‘On the greatest comeback victory in the history of American politics.’ But he wanted to hear me say the words.” The exchange, which Karl likened to a power move from the fictional meth lord, was described by The View panelist Joy Behar as “so needy.”
This wasn’t the first time Karl had experienced Trump’s unique approach to the media. In fact, Karl noted, Trump’s accessibility was unparalleled. “I’ve covered a lot of presidential campaigns. I’ve covered several presidents. There’s none, ever, that I have ever been able to call up on the phone. I mean, you always go through, they’ve got people, I mean, it’s like all of that. It was easier to get Donald Trump on the phone than to get the deputy press secretary for the Kamala Harris campaign on the phone,” Karl explained, as reported by RadarOnline.com and ABC News. That level of direct access, Karl argued, set Trump apart from his predecessors and rivals alike.
Why such openness? Karl has a theory: “He spends a lot of time talking. He loves the engagement.” According to Karl, Trump would often turn the tables during their conversations, peppering the journalist with questions: “What are you hearing? What’s going on? How is it looking?” This two-way street, Karl suggested, was part of what made covering Trump so unpredictable—and, at times, so challenging. “During the campaign, I have questions for him, and he has questions for me,” Karl said.
Despite the often combative tone of Trump’s public statements about the media—ABC News included—Karl described a more nuanced relationship in private. “He got angry at me a couple times over the phone, he’s gotten angry with me in private. Mostly in private, it’s very positive and very complimentary,” Karl noted. Even when Trump was publicly sparring with Karl, as he did in September 2025 after an interview about Pam Bondi’s stance on hate speech, the dynamic remained complex. Trump told Karl, “She’ll probably go after people like you, because you treat me so unfairly. You have a lot of hate in your heart. Maybe they will come after ABC. ABC paid me $16 million recently for a form of hate speech. Your company paid me $16 million for a form of hate speech, so maybe they will have to go after you.”
Karl’s willingness to share these behind-the-scenes moments offers a rare window into the evolving relationship between a president and the press. The fact that Trump, despite his frequent criticism of ABC as “fake news,” remained so available and, at times, so eager for engagement, stands out in the annals of presidential history. As Karl put it, “There’s none other that I’ve ever been able to call up on the phone.”
Panelists on The View were quick to point out the strangeness of the relationship. Joy Behar described the conversation as “weird,” while Sunny Hostin highlighted the public attacks Trump had made against Karl in interviews. Yet, as Karl himself acknowledged, this dynamic—part adversarial, part convivial—was emblematic of Trump’s broader approach to the media. He could be combative one moment and complimentary the next, often blurring the lines between friend and foe.
It’s a dynamic that has not gone unnoticed by other journalists. Karl’s experience underscores the unique challenges of covering a figure like Trump, whose willingness to bypass traditional channels and speak directly to reporters—sometimes in the middle of the night—can leave even the most seasoned correspondents off-balance. “It was easier to get Donald Trump on the phone than to get the deputy press secretary for the Kamala Harris campaign,” Karl repeated, emphasizing just how unusual the situation was.
As for the infamous “say my name” moment, it’s clear that Trump relished the symbolism. In Karl’s telling, the president-elect’s insistence on hearing his victory acknowledged out loud was more than just a demand for praise—it was a statement of power, a way of asserting control over the narrative at a pivotal moment. It’s the kind of detail that brings Karl’s reporting to life, offering readers and viewers a glimpse into the psychological chess game that defines modern American politics.
With Retribution, Karl aims to document not just the facts of Trump’s comeback, but the human drama behind the headlines. His stories, drawn from personal experience and candid conversations, reveal a side of Trump that is by turns demanding, engaging, and, above all, deeply invested in the art of the deal—whether that deal is with voters, adversaries, or the press itself.
The phone call between Karl and Trump, with its echoes of pop culture and political theater, stands as a testament to the unpredictable, often theatrical nature of American democracy in the 21st century. As Karl continues to cover Trump’s second term, the lessons of that early morning conversation will no doubt remain fresh in his mind—and in the minds of those who follow the ever-evolving relationship between power and the press.
