Donald Trump Lashes Out at Female Reporter in Ugly Scene Just Hours Before Departing for Beijing

US President Donald Trump directed a personal insult at a female journalist outside the White House on Tuesday afternoon, calling her a 'dumb person' when challenged over taxpayer-funded renovations to his presidential ballroom. The exchange, caught on camera as reporters pressed him on spiralling costs, has reignited scrutiny of his treatment of women in the press.

The confrontation, which occurred shortly before the 79-year-old departed Washington for Beijing, marks the latest in a documented pattern of the president aiming personal attacks at women in the media who question his administration's spending and economic policies.

Trump Lashes Out At Female Reporter Again

Akayla Gardner, a White House correspondent for MS NOW, initiated the exchange by asking Trump about the rising cost of his ballroom and reflecting pool project. The renovations are projected to cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Gardner drew a comparison to the Federal Reserve's headquarters upgrade, noting the president's previous calls to dismiss Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over similar cost overruns.

'How is that different than your ballroom and the reflecting pool?' Gardner asked.

Trump defended the project's finances, asserting that construction was advancing efficiently. 'What happened is that we have a ballroom that's under budget. It's going up right here,' he said. 'I've doubled the size of it because we obviously need that. And we're right now on budget, under budget and ahead of schedule.'

When Gardner interjected to point out that 'the price has doubled', the president swiftly cut her off. According to footage of the press gaggle, Trump appeared to hunch down to her eye level before delivering a direct insult, using phrasing he has frequently directed at Black individuals in public life.

'I doubled the size of it you dumb person! Doubled the size,' he said. 'You are not a smart person.'

White House Defends Trump Over Media Confrontation

Following the incident, the official White House Rapid Response account on X posted a clip of the altercation. The page celebrated the response, referring to Gardner as 'fake news'.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson later released a statement denying that the president's remarks were motivated by the correspondent's gender. Jackson framed the outburst as a reflection of the political approach that secured his re-election.

'President Trump has never been politically correct, never holds back, and in large part, the American people re-elected him for his transparency,' Jackson said. '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.'

MS NOW has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding the exchange.

President Insults Second Female Reporter Over Inflation

During the same press gathering, Trump directed similar hostility towards a second female reporter who asked him to evaluate his economic policies. The question was posed as national inflation reached 3.8 per cent amid the ongoing Iran war.

Defending his economic record, Trump launched into a lengthy response that culminated in another personal attack. 'It's working incredibly,' he said. 'We had a choice: let these lunatics have a nuclear weapon—if you wanna do that, then you're a stupid person. And you happen to be. I mean, I know you very well.'

History Of Trump Attacks On Female Journalists

Tuesday's events are part of a continuous series of hostile interactions between the president and female journalists. Trump has repeatedly targeted women in the press corps with disparaging remarks about their intelligence, appearance and professional capabilities.

In the preceding week alone, he publicly insulted two prominent female correspondents. He referred to 60 Minutes correspondent Norah O'Donnell as 'horrible' and described ABC News Senior Political Correspondent Rachel Scott as 'one of the worst reporters' following a question about the aesthetics of his Washington renovations.

Records of the president's press interactions show he has insulted a female journalist every month this year. In April, he targeted Fox News contributor Jessica Tarlov, labelling her 'one of the Least Attractive and Talented People on all of Television'.

This followed similar incidents in March, when he called an ABC News reporter 'a very obnoxious person', and in February, when he dismissed CNN's Kaitlan Collins as 'the worst reporter.' The pattern began in January, when he attacked another CNN reporter, claiming she had asked a 'stupid question.'