Trump calls reporter a “stupid person” (again)

During the press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday, Donald Trump was asked about the shooting of two members of the National Guard on Wednesday in D.C. The shooter, who was a suspected Afghan National, had reportedly been vetted by the state. “U.S. officials say that the suspect worked very closely with the VIA in Afghanistan for years, that he was vetted, and the vetting came up clean.”

Trump claimed the asylum process used by the U.S. forces on asylum seekers coming from Afghanistan via plane was ineffective and had failed to vet the shooter properly, stating “He went cuckoo. I mean, he went nuts. It happens too often with these people. You see them. But look, this is how they come in, they’re standing on top of each other,”

Trump continued to say that “There was no vetting or anything. They came in unvetted, and we have a lot of others in this country, and we’re going to get them out.”

The reporter tried pressing Trump, correcting him, “Actually, your DOJ IG [Department of Justice Inspector General] just reported this year that there was thorough vetting by DHS and by the FBI of these Afghans who were brought into the U.S.,

Trump cut off the reporter angrily, snapping, “Because they let them in. Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person? 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.” He then claimed that it was impossible to remove the people who came in as part of the immigration policies of former U.S. President Joe Biden.

At least 400,000 people have been deported from the U.S. since Donald Trump took office.

Just after 2 PM on Wednesday, November 26, two members of the U.S. National Guard were shot near Farragut Square in downtown Washington, DC.

The soldiers, both hailing from West Virginia were on a high-visibility patrol near the corner of 17th and I street, an area that services lunchtime needs for White House staff. Washington Metropolitan Police Assistant Chief Jeff Carroll said the shooter “came around the corner” and “immediately started firing”. He claimed the soldiers were ‘ambushed’. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser called the shooting a targeted attack.

The victims were 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom and 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe. Specialist Beckstrom died from her injuries on Thursday; Wolfe remains in critical condition.

The suspected gunman has been identified by law enforcement as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal. He will be charged with three counts of assault with the intent to kill while armed and criminal possession of a weapon. Lakanwal is believed to come from Afghanistan. He came to the U.S. in 2021 and was granted asylum in April 2025 under the Trump administration.

When FBI director Kash Patel was asked about the vetting process, he refused to answer, instead referencing a post on X from Kristi Noem. Donald Trump has blamed the Biden administration for Lakanwal’s presence in the U.S., but it was his administration that granted Lakanwal asylum.  

Prior to his arrival in the US, Lakanwal worked with the CIA “as a member of a partner force in Kandahar,” John Ratcliffe, CIA Director, said in a statement. Lakanwal currently faces charges of assault with intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. Soon after the shooting, Trump said he would send 500 more National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., though it’s unclear where the additional troops would come from.