Donald Trump has again clashed with reporters during a White House media appearance, criticising two female journalists as he defended the cost of a planned
ballroom project and his administration's economic policies. The exchanges took place on Tuesday before Trump departed Washington for a summit in China. During the event, Akayla Gardner of MS NOW questioned the president about the cost of a proposed White House ballroom, comparing it with cost overruns linked to renovations at the Federal Reserve headquarters, which Trump has previously criticised. "You wanted Jerome Powell fired for cost overruns," Gardner said, referring to Jerome Powell. "How is that different than your ballroom and the reflecting pool?" Trump replied that the ballroom project was "under budget" and "ahead of schedule". "I've doubled the size of it because we obviously need that," he said. When Gardner attempted to interject that "the price has doubled", Trump cut her off. "I doubled the size of it you dumb person! Doubled the size," he said. "You are not a smart person."
I asked @POTUS how the rising price of his ballroom (nearly x2 original estimate) and reflecting pool makeover (x7 original estimate) are any different than why he wanted to remove Fed Chair Jerome Powell for 30% cost overruns.
Here’s his response: pic.twitter.com/Qpm1VrBK61— Akayla Gardner (@gardnerakayla) May 12, 2026
The White House Rapid Response account later posted a clip of the exchange on social media, describing Gardner as "fake news".
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson rejected suggestions that the president's comments 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 in a statement.
"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."
In a separate exchange during the same event, another female reporter questioned Mr Trump about inflation, which recently rose to 3.8% amid the conflict involving Iran. "It's working incredibly," the president said of his economic policies before defending his administration's stance on Iran.
"We had a choice: let these lunatics have a nuclear weapon," he said. "If you wanna do that, then you're a stupid person. And you happen to be. I mean, I know you very well."
The confrontation follows several previous disputes between Trump and female journalists this year.
Last week, he criticised Norah O'Donnell of CBS News as "horrible" and called Rachel Scott of ABC News "one of the worst reporters".
Earlier this year, he also attacked Jessica Tarlov, Kaitlan Collins and other female reporters in public remarks and social media posts.
The White House ballroom project has also drawn scrutiny over rising costs.
The administration initially said last July that the 90,000-square-foot ballroom would cost about $200m. Trump later said the cost had risen to roughly $400m. He has repeatedly said the project would be funded through private donations rather than taxpayer money.
