President Donald Trump lost his cool with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins outside the White House, unleashing a string of insults after her questions got under his skin.
The 80-year-old president’s crash-out came as he spoke to reporters on Wednesday before heading to South Carolina for a rally.
Trump grew increasingly testy as Collins, 34, repeatedly pressed him about his decision to waive sanctions against Russia, until he finally snapped.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he snarled at Collins. “You’re a dummy. You’re a low-IQ person. You’re a dummy, and you work for CNN.”
Collins had pointed out that the Russia sanctions Trump waived on Friday were due to take effect under a law named after the late South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Trump is set to rally Wednesday for Graham’s sister Darline Graham, who is fighting to hold onto the seat she was parachuted into after her brother’s sudden death in July.
“You’re campaigning for Darline Graham. What has she said to you about lifting those sanctions on Russia that her brother fought so hard for?” Collins asked.
Trump sidestepped the question, claiming that he would not have been able to secure Wednesday’s release of Stephen Hubbard, 74, a teacher originally from Michigan, from Russian detention had he let the sanctions go into effect.
“If I would have done that, you would not have Mr. Hubbard coming back,” the president claimed, before adding, “And you don’t know anything. I mean, you’re fake news CNN.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Less than two minutes after his blow-up at Collins, Trump lost his temper again when an ABC News White House Correspondent Karen Travers pressed him about the sanctions on Russia.
“How was waiving those sanctions on Russia to secure the release of Hubbard not giving something to Russia in exchange?” Travers asked.
“Are you a stupid person?” the president cut her off. “Who do you work for?
“ABC News,” replied Travers, who has been White House correspondent since Trump’s first term.
“You’re a stupid person. And by the way, your network is the worst of all,” Trump said, before moving on without answering her question.
The president’s latest outbursts come after calls to invoke the 25th Amendment surged following his deranged attack on The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg when he attempted to ask a follow-up question during a Tuesday press conference.
“Hey! I don’t know who the hell you are, but you better be careful,” Trump told Feinberg while wagging a finger.
“What’s wrong with you? Are you a sick person?” the commander-in-chief added later. “I actually think there’s something wrong with you.”
The White House shrugged off the calls with an attack on the Daily Beast.
“President Trump’s sharpness, unmatched energy, and historic accessibility stand in stark contrast to what we saw during the past four years when failing news outlets like the Daily Beast intentionally covered up Joe Biden’s serious mental and physical decline from the American people,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said.
“President Trump is working nonstop to solve problems and deliver on his promises, and he remains in excellent health.”
