Donald Trump lashed out at a reporter outside the White House when questioned over plans for his new ballroom today
Donald Trump insulted a reporter today when questioned about his plans for a new White House ballroom.
Asked about the cost of the ballroom he commissioned to be built, the US president said: “We have a ballroom that is under budget, it is going up right here.
“I’ve doubled the size of it because we obviously need that. We are right now on budget, under budget, and ahead of schedule.”
Trump was then asked about suggestions that the budget had been doubled, from $200m to $400m. He responded: “I doubled the size of it you dumb person. Double the size!”
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Leaning close into the female reporter to repeat the insult, the president added: “You are… you are not a smart person.” Trump was speaking as he headed to Beijing for a high-stakes summit with President Xi Jinping.
Just yesterday, Senate Republicans said they will move forward with a proposal to give the Secret Service up to $1bn for security upgrades to Trump’s ballroom project, arguing more security is needed after a man was charged with trying to assassinate him last month.
Republican senators returning to Washington on Monday faced questions about the plan, which would spend taxpayer dollars to secure the East Wing project after Trump had said it would only be paid for with private donations.
Trump has said the construction would cost around $400m, but the White House had not previously proposed a number for security costs.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said the total is “what it costs to protect the President of the United States in a very dangerous time and a dangerous world.”
“Keeping the leader of the free world safe is an expensive proposition,” Thune said. ”The Secret Service has a job to defend and protect the president, and we need to make sure they have the tools to do it.”
Democrats said they will try and defeat the plan, which Republicans added to a partisan spending bill that would restore funding for immigration enforcement agencies that the Democrats have blocked since February.