“Trump has a long record of engaging in personal attacks with anyone who dares question him. Reporters, other candidates, pundits — whoever it is. Criticize Trump, and expect to be insulted.”
You have two points in that sentence.
First, you say that Trump engages in personal attacks with anyone who dares question him. Not true. I have seen him questioned many times without a personal attack
Second - attack reporters, pundits, etc., who criticize him. As in George Will, Charles Krauthammer, Megyn Kelly who smear him under the guise of a question, and in the case of Will and Krauthammer, just smear him?
There is a difference in asking someone an objective question and asking someone a question that smears him.
But look at his interview with Hewitt. There was nothing smear-like in the interview, but Trump got some criticism for his answers. And what did he do? Start belittling Hewitt, insulting him, etc.
It’s a consistent pattern. Make Trump look bad, in any way, and he hits back with personal, often childish insults. It happens over and over again.
It’s politics, not bean bag. The stuff candidates used to say about opponents in the old, old days makes today look like playground taunting.
They were a lot harsher 100-200 years ago.