Trump Called Two Female Reporters 'Dumb' and 'Stupid' in Minutes — Here Is Every Woman Journalist He Has Attacked

President Donald Trump called two female reporters 'dumb' and 'stupid' within minutes of each other on 12 May, extending a pattern of personal attacks against women journalists that press freedom groups say has escalated sharply in his second term.

The exchange happened on the South Lawn of the White House as Trump took questions before departing for Beijing. MS NOW White House correspondent Akayla Gardner asked why Trump had sought to remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over 30% cost overruns at the Fed's headquarters while his own ballroom project had doubled from $200 million (£148 million) to $400 million (£295 million) in five months.

'You Dumb Person... You Are Not a Smart Person'

Trump claimed the 90,000-square-foot (8,361-square-metre) ballroom, which will replace the historic East Wing, was 'on budget, under budget' and 'ahead of schedule.' When Gardner pointed out that the price had in fact doubled, Trump cut her off. 'I doubled the size of it, you dumb person,' he said. 'You are not a smart person.'

Gardner also raised the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation, which has ballooned from $1.8 million (£1.33m) to more than $13 million (£9.6m). Trump repeated the insult.

Moments later, a second female reporter asked whether Trump's economic policies were working as inflation climbed to 3.8% during the ongoing Iran conflict. Trump defended his record before turning on her as well. 'If you wanna do that, then you're a stupid person,' he said. 'And you happen to be.'

A List That Keeps Growing

The 12 May outburst was not an isolated event. Just days earlier, Trump called ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott a 'horror show' after she asked why he was focused on renovation projects while gas prices soared. 'You can understand dirt maybe better than I can,' he told Scott, a Black woman, at a press event near the Lincoln Memorial.

In November 2025, Trump told Bloomberg White House correspondent Catherine Lucey 'Quiet, piggy' aboard Air Force One after she asked about the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Days later, he called New York Times reporter Katie Rogers 'ugly, both inside and out' on Truth Social after she wrote about his age and reduced public appearances.

Last month, he described Fox News' Jessica Tarlov as 'one of the Least Attractive and Talented People on all of Television' in another Truth Social post.

NABJ Condemns 'Deeply Troubling Pattern'

The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) issued a formal statement on 11 May, one day before the Gardner incident, calling for 'an immediate end to the continued tone of disrespect, hostility and public denigration directed at Black women journalists.'

'When Black women journalists are targeted, insulted or demeaned for asking legitimate questions, it is not only an attack on them personally,' NABJ President Errin Haines said. 'It is an attack on the role of a free press in our democracy.'

The organisation's statement named journalists, including Yamiche Alcindor, April Ryan, Abby Phillip, and Jasmine Wright, as previous targets of Trump's attacks dating back to his first term. In 2018, the NABJ condemned Trump for repeatedly using words like 'stupid,' 'loser,' and 'nasty' to describe Black women reporters.

White House Denies Gender Motivation

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson denied that Trump's remarks were related to Gardner's gender. '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.'

Gardner, a former Bloomberg News correspondent and Ohio State University graduate, posted the full exchange on X, writing that she had asked Trump how his rising renovation costs 'are any different than why he wanted to remove Fed Chair Jerome Powell for 30% cost overruns.'

The White House Rapid Response account on X reposted a clip of the confrontation and labelled Gardner 'fake news.'

The question Trump didn't answer remains a simple one. His ballroom budget doubled in five months and the Reflecting Pool renovation costs multiplied sevenfold. He wanted Powell fired for less.