Donald Trump has once again confronted a reporter during a press briefing, this time over questions related to a recent National Guard shooting incident.
On November 27, Trump conducted a press conference following his Thanksgiving conversation with military personnel.
He announced that US Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom had passed away after a shooting that occurred a few blocks from the White House on November 26.
Following the incident, Trump posted on Truth Social, mentioning that two National Guard members were ‘critically wounded’. He also commented that the ‘animal’ responsible for the shooting ‘is also severely wounded, but regardless, will pay a very steep price’.
Authorities apprehended one suspect, identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan resident in Washington since 2021.
During the conference, a journalist informed Trump that Lakanwal had been reported by US officials to have ‘worked closely with the CIA in Afghanistan for years and was vetted’, and that ‘the vetting came up clean’.
Trump’s response to this was: “He went cuckoo, he went nuts, and that happens too.”
He then displayed an image depicting people packed into an airplane, asserting that this is how they entered the United States, claiming, “There was no vetting or anything. They came in unvetted, and we have a lot of others in this country we’re gonna get them out, but they go cuckoo.”
Nevertheless, the reporter countered by pointing out that Trump’s Department of Justice had earlier confirmed that there was comprehensive vetting by the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI. She also questioned why Trump was seemingly blaming Joe Biden’s administration, prompting him to lash out.
Trump shot back: “Because they let them in. Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person? Because they came in on a plane, along with thousands of other people that shouldn’t be here, and you’re just asking questions, because you’re a stupid person.”
This incident follows another where Trump was criticized for verbally attacking a female journalist, calling her ‘piggy’.
On November 14, Trump addressed the press aboard Air Force One, where Bloomberg journalist Catherine Lucey was present.
When Lucey attempted to pose a follow-up question regarding any ‘incriminating’ content in the recent Jeffrey Epstein email release, Trump seemed irritated.
He pointed at her and said: “Quiet. Quiet, piggy.”
“You are the worst! You’re with Bloomberg, right? You are the worst!” he exclaimed, continuing with: “I don’t know why they even have you.”