Before boarding Marine One for Beijing on Tuesday, Donald Trump stopped on the South Lawn to take questions from reporters about his planned White House ballroom project, which has now ballooned far beyond its original price tag. One reporter pointed out that the estimated cost had doubled.
Trump responded by leaning toward the microphone and calling her “a dumb person,” before adding that she was “not a smart person.” Moments later, he turned away, boarded Marine One and departed for China.
The reporter was MS NOW’s Akayla Gardner, who had also pressed Trump on why he was pursuing Jerome Powell for cost overruns at the Federal Reserve while his own ballroom project had doubled in price.
“You wanted Jerome Powell fired for cost overruns,” Gardner said. “How is that different than your ballroom and the reflecting pool?” Trump did not respond to the Powell comparison itself and instead turned his attention directly toward Gardner.
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He defended the project first. “We have a ballroom that’s under budget. It’s going up right here. I’ve doubled the size of it because we obviously need that. And we’re right now on budget, under budget and ahead of schedule.”
When Gardner noted the price had doubled, Trump hunched down to her eye level. “I doubled the size of it, you dumb person! Doubled the size,” he snapped. “You are not a smart person.”
Gardner then asked about the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation, whose cost has ballooned from $1.8 million to more than $13 million. Trump did not address it and moved to the next reporter. Both questions were rooted in facts, and neither was answered on its actual substance.
🚨 HOLY SMOKES. President Trump just put a reporter IN HER PLACE
REPORTER: The cost of your ballroom doubled!! 😠
TRUMP: “I doubled the SIZE OF IT you DUMB PERSON! You are NOT a smart person.”
🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/MYODrbMTZW
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 12, 2026
The numbers Gardner cited were accurate and the price history is more extensive than a single doubling. Trump announced the ballroom at $200 million last July, increased the estimate to $300 million in October 2025 and then again to $400 million in December. Three separate increases across five months.
Congressional Republicans have also proposed more than $1 billion in taxpayer funding for security upgrades connected to the East Wing project, including reinforced above and below-ground infrastructure.
Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted the ballroom itself will be privately funded, though the separate billion-dollar security costs remain sitting elsewhere in the budget with little public explanation from the White House.
On the same afternoon, Trump also told reporters he would support suspending the federal gas tax “until it’s appropriate,” a move that would require congressional approval.
Featured image via YouTube screengrab
