President Donald Trump delivered a scathing on-camera rebuke to a journalist on Thursday night, sharply asking, “Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person?”

This verbal confrontation occurred during a press briefing concerning an Afghan suspect accused of shooting two National Guard members in Washington, DC, on Wednesday.

The tense exchange began when reporters questioned Trump about the vetting process of the alleged shooter, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, probing whether the issue lay with federal screening procedures rather than immigration policy.

Nancy Cordes, the 51-year-old chief White House correspondent for CBS News, pointed out calmly that federal officials had indicated the suspect “worked very closely with the CIA in Afghanistan for years, that he was vetted and the vetting came up clean.”

However, Trump quickly retorted with forceful words.

“He went cuckoo. I mean, he went nuts,” Trump remarked.

‘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. That’s an airplane. 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.’

Reporter, Cordes, then pushed again, citing federal watchdog findings.

President Donald Trump humiliated a journalist in a stunning on-camera outburst on Thursday 

Trump viciously snapped at reporter Nancy Cordes, CBS News chief White House correspondent, with the words ‘Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person?’ after she pressed him on how the alleged DC shooter was able to enter the US

‘Actually, your DOJ IG [United States Department of Justice Office of the 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 US, so why do you blame the Biden administration for what this man did?’

Trump’s response devolved into a stingingly personal attack as he laid into Cordes, who was educated at Princeton University.

‘Because they let them in. Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person?’ he fired back. 

‘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.’

He continued, launching into a broad condemnation of the Afghanistan withdrawal and immigration law.

‘And there’s a law passed that it’s almost impossible to get them out. You can’t get them out once they come in, and they came in and they were unvetted, they were unchecked, there were many of them, and they came in on big planes and it was disgraceful,’ Trump said. 

‘The whole Afghanistan situation was a mess. It should’ve never taken place… we would’ve left from Bagram, and we would’ve kept Bagram by the way.’

Despite the verbal barrage, the reporter seemed to take the insult in her stride, though at one point appeared to raising an eyebrow and nodded as Trump continued to berate her, ignoring the information she was attempting to clarify.

Cordes, seen in purple, managed to keep her cool despite being insulted by the president

Trump grew visibly frustrated as he attempted to show how many Afghan nationals entered the country under chaotic conditions

The photo Trump showed was of 640 Afghans being rescued from Kabul in August 2021 in a cargo jet that was designed to carry 150

Thursday night’s explosive confrontation between the president and a female reporter centered on the shooting of two National Guard members on Wednesday afternoon in Washington, DC.

It was the latest in a string of outbursts from Trump against reporters. 

This week Trump slammed a female New York Times reporter for being ‘ugly’ after dredging up ‘creepy’ health rumors about him.

Katie Rogers co-wrote a piece about how Trump, 79, has scaled back his public appearances in his second term compared to his first stint in the White House.

The article claimed that the President’s attempts to project ’round-the-clock energy, virility and physical stamina’ were becoming difficult for him to maintain as he ages. 

‘The Creeps at the Failing New York Times are at it again,’ Trump told his followers on Truth Social on Wednesday morning. ‘Radical Left Lunatics in the soon to fold New York Times did a hit piece on me that I am perhaps losing my Energy, despite facts that show the exact opposite.’

‘They know this is wrong, as is almost every thing that they write about me, including election results, ALL PURPOSELY NEGATIVE. This cheap “RAG” is truly an “ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE.”

‘The writer of the story, Katie Rogers, who is assigned to write only bad things about me, is a third rate reporter who is ugly, both inside and out.’

Earlier this month, Trump snapped at a journalist after being asked about the Epstein files on Air Force One

Trump fired back at Katie Rogers after she co-wrote a piece about how the President’s age and health is starting to catch-up with him in the Oval Office 

Then earlier this month Trump told Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey to be ‘quiet, piggy’ after she asked about the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

At the time, the President was being quizzed by journalists on Air Force One.

Lucey appeared to ask Trump a question relating to Epstein before the President began waving a finger in her face.

‘Quiet, quiet piggy!’ Trump snapped at the journalist while she stood off camera.

The President later lashed out at her again days later in another heated exchange. 

While speaking to the press outside Air Force One, Trump began responding to a question from Lucey regarding Tucker Carlson’s interview with Nick Fuentes.

The President was then interrupted by the journalist, leading to a sudden outburst: ‘Will you let me finish my statement?

‘You are the worst! You’re with Bloomberg, right? You are the worst! I don’t know why they even have you.’ 

And in October, Trump made a point of shutting down an ABC News reporter just days after George Stephanopoulos abruptly cut-off JD Vance during a heated interview. 

Officials said at the Thursday press conference that Lakanwal drove across the country from his home in Bellingham, Washington, to DC before he fired at the troops on Wednesday afternoon with a .357 revolver

The president was taking questions from reporters following a meeting with Argentinian President Javier Milei when he snubbed the broadcaster, offering a blunt explanation as to his reasoning. 

‘You’re ABC fake news,’ Trump said as a reporter tried to ask him a question.

‘I don’t take questions from ABC fake news after what you did with Stephanopoulos to the Vice President of the United States, I don’t take questions from ABC fake news,’ he declared.

Stephanopoulos had been interviewing the vice-president when the conversation spiraled out of control. 

Earlier Thursday, Trump solemnly announced that National Guard Sarah Beckstrom, 20, had died from her injuries, describing her as an ‘incredible person’ and ‘outstanding in every way’.

Her colleague, Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains in a critical condition in hospital.

Accused gunman Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who entered the United States in 2021 during the mass evacuation that followed the collapse of the U.S.-backed Afghan government. 

Officials said he drove from Bellingham, Washington, across the country to the nation’s capital before opening fire with a .357 revolver.

National Guard members, Staff Sgt Andrew Wolfe and Specialist Sarah Beckstrom were shot. Beckstrom later died from her injuries on Thursday 

Afghan soldier Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, was named as the alleged gunman 

Federal authorities are investigating the attack as an act of terrorism.

According to US officials, Lakanwal worked with the CIA during the Afghanistan war. CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed that relationship.

‘This individual – and so many others – should have never been allowed to come here. Our citizens and servicemembers deserve far better than to endure the ongoing fallout from the Biden Administration’s catastrophic failures,’ Ratcliffe said.

He also confirmed: ‘Lakanwal worked with the CIA as a member of a partner force in Kandahar.’

Kandahar served as a Taliban stronghold and saw intense combat following the Sept. 11 attacks. The CIA relied heavily on Afghan operatives during the conflict.

According to #AfghanEvac, Lakanwal’s asylum was approved in April under the Trump administration after fingerprinting, iris scans, background checks, interviews, and formal risk assessments.

A US official later told CNN the suspect was ‘clean on all checks’ both before working with the U.S. government and again before entering the country.

Humanitarian groups have warned against weaponizing the crime.

‘I don’t want people to leverage this tragedy into a political ploy,’ said Shawn VanDiver, president of #AfghanEvac.