During a Thursday night press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate, President Donald Trump erupted at a female reporter who asked him about the vetting process for the alleged perpetrator of this week's fatal shooting in Washington D.C.
Trump announced Thursday that 20 year-old West Virginia National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom succumbed to her injuries after being shot in downtown Washington D.C. on Wednesday afternoon. Beckstrom and 24 year-old Andrew Wolfe were attacked outside of the Farragut West Metro station just blocks away from the White House. Wolfe is still in critical condition.
Police arrested 29 year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who allegedly fired multiple rounds from a handgun at Beckstrom and Wolfe in an ambush-style attack. Lakanwal was also shot, and is being treated for his injuries at a local hospital. Trump blamed former President Joe Biden's immigration and refugee policies for the attack, as Lakanwal came to the U.S. from Afghanistan in 2021. However, Lakanwal was granted asylum by the Trump administration's Department of Homeland Security (DHS) earlier this year.
CBS reporter Nancy Cordes reminded Trump that Lakanwal "worked very closely with the CIA in Afghanistan for years" and that the vetting process came up "clean." Trump responded that Lakanwal "went cuckoo" and that "there was no vetting."
"Actually, your [Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General] just reported this year that there was thorough vetting by DHS and the FBI of these Afghans who were brought into the U.S., so why do you blame the Biden administration?" Cordes asked, before Trump cut her off.
"Because they let them in. Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person?" Trump said. "Because they came in on a plane, along with thousands of other people who shouldn't be here, and you're just asking questions because you're a stupid person."
The president's remarks were met with outrage and ridicule on social media. Author Nick Pettigrew observed: "Trump verbally abusing a woman for doing her job, while her colleagues stand and watch it happen without doing anything. Again."
"In less than 2 weeks, Trump has called one female reporter 'piggy,' another female reporter 'ugly' and a third female reporter 'stupid,'" former Chicago Tribune editor Mark Jacob wrote on Bluesky. "All decent Americans are disgusted by this."
New York Sun columnist Karen Schwartz sarcastically quipped that Trump was "cool calm and collected," while Kean University adjunct professor Michael E. Carter mocked "The solemn dignity of our commander-in-chief."
"It's easy to be numb because it's par for the course nowadays, but repeatedly calling a reporter who asks a reasonable question 'stupid' is conduct unbecoming for a small-town mayor, let alone the President of the United States," wrote American University assistant professor David Ryan Miller. "The press exists to play a watchdog role, not be a supplicant."
Watch the exchange below:
“You’re a stupid person” — Trump lashes out at a reporter who presses him on the fact that the suspected DC shooter was actually thoroughly vetted before he was let in the US from Afghanistan
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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) Nov 27, 2025 at 7:24 PM