For the second time in just a few weeks, President Trump has come under fire after launching another personal attack against a Black woman journalist who questioned him about one of his costly construction projects. The latest confrontation happened during a press gaggle before Trump departed for a trip to China, where tensions quickly escalated over questions surrounding the rising price tag of the new White House ballroom project.
The ballroom has already sparked controversy after Trump reportedly ordered the demolition of the East Wing to expand the project. While defending the construction, Trump insisted the renovation was necessary and claimed the project remained “under budget and ahead of schedule,” despite reports that costs have continued to grow.
MS Now reporter Akayla Gardner pressed Trump on the issue, asking why the budget appeared to be increasing after the ballroom size had doubled. Trump immediately became visibly irritated by the follow-up question. Interrupting Gardner before she could finish, he leaned toward the reporter and snapped, “I doubled the size of it, you dumb person. I doubled the size. You are not a smart person.”
The heated exchange quickly spread across social media and reignited criticism over Trump’s long history of attacking female journalists, particularly women of color, when faced with questions he dislikes. Critics argued the moment reflected a broader pattern of hostile behavior toward reporters challenging his administration’s spending and decisions.
White House defends Trump’s comments
Despite the personal nature of Trump’s comments against Gardner and his long track record of going after women asking him questions, the White House is defending the president’s latest remarks. The Daily Beast reports that White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson said in a statement, “President Trump has never been politically correct, never holds back, and in large part, the American people re-elected him for his transparency.”
Jackson further said of Trump’s remarks to Gardner, “This has nothing to do with gender – it has everything to do with the fact that the President’s and the public’s trust in the media is at all-time lows.”
The White House’s Rapid Response 47 social media page also doubled down on the exchange, posting a clip of Trump’s exchange with Gardner and attaching the label “FAKE NEWS” to her accurate remark that the price of the ballroom project has recently doubled from previous estimates.
Growing list of Trump insults against women in journalism
Trump’s remarks against Gardner represent the second time in the past few days that the president has personally attacked a Black woman journalist. Last week, Trump called ABC News Senior Political Correspondent Rachel Scott “one of the worst reporters” and “a horror show” after saying she’d asked “a stupid question” about the cost of construction projects Trump has launched around Washington, D.C., monuments.
These attacks are part of a long list of personal insults launched by Trump against women journalists. Scott herself has been on the receiving end of Trump’s ire before; in December, he called her “obnoxious” and “a terrible reporter” over a question about controversial strikes against alleged drug boats. In other incidents, Trump has referred to women reporters as “stupid” or “ugly” and shouted down one journalist by saying, “Quiet, piggy.”
As Trump pushes controversial projects like the White House ballroom while many Americans remain unhappy with the economy, the war with Iran and other policies, the president can expect more tough questions. If those questions come from women, and particularly women of color, Trump seems determined to personally attack these reporters with comments unbecoming of the president of the United States.
