Trump Rips Into Reporter Outside White House: ‘YOU DUMB PERSON’

President Donald Trump was ready to rumble when he crossed paths with reporters on Tuesday afternoon, calling out several directly over what he considered to be stupid questions.

In one instance, Trump responded to a question about the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report — which showed an uptick in inflation largely driven by higher energy costs — and pushed back immediately on the suggestion that his policies might be causing it.

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“You promised to bring inflation down. It’s now at its highest level in three years. Are your policies not working? What’s happening?” the reporter asked (3:45 mark).

“If you go back to just before the war, for the last three months, inflation was at 1.7%,” Trump pushed back, arguing that his policies had been working well before the launch of Operation Epic Fury — and that the cost of the war was what was reflected in the latest reports. That cost, he insisted, was worth it.

“Now, we had a choice. Let these lunatics have a nuclear weapon. If you want to do that, then you’re a stupid person, and you happen to be, I mean, I know you very well,” he said. “Anybody that wants them to have a nuclear weapon is a stupid person.”

Trump went on to say that he expects to see oil prices drop — and inflation along with it — when the war with Iran is over.

Another reporter challenged the president about the projected cost of the White House ballroom currently under construction, asking how he accounted for the fact that the cost had increased dramatically.

“We have a ballroom that’s under budget, it’s going up right here,” Trump said, pointing across the White House lawn. “I’ve doubled the size of it because we need that, and we’re right now on budget, under budget, and ahead of schedule.”

“The price has doubled!” one reporter exclaimed.

“I doubled the size of it, you dumb person!” he shot back. “I doubled the size. You are NOT a smart person.”

He went on to explain that he had decided to double the size in part because of things that had happened “in the last year,” likely a vague reference to at least one of the three assassination attempts against him.

Trump was leaving the White House on Tuesday to head to China for several days of meetings with President Xi Jinping.