Trump calls media members ‘dummies’ and ‘stupid’ a day after his Oval Office tirade
Trump calls media members ‘dummies’ and ‘stupid’ a day after his Oval Office tirade
Rachel Dobkin Wed, October 21, 2026 at 10:11 PM UTC
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President Donald Trump has lashed out at members of the media again, calling them “dummies” and “stupid” — just one day after his Oval Office tirade against The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg.
Trump took questions from reporters outside the White House Wednesday afternoon and ripped into CNN Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins, one of his common targets, when she tried to ask about his decision to waive sanctions on Russia that were part of a bill he signed last month.
The president has faced backlash, including from several Republican lawmakers, for waiving the new sanctions, days before they were set to take effect.
“I have the right to do them at any day,” Trump said Wednesday about implementing the sanctions.
The president started to speak on what would happen if Russia behaved “badly,” before being interrupted by Collins.
President Donald Trump has lashed out at members of the media again, calling them 'dummies' and 'stupid' — just one day after his Oval Office tirade against The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg (AFP via Getty Images)
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he told Collins as he waved her off. “You're a low-IQ person, you're a dummy, and you work for CNN.”
Trump then boasted about the release of 74-year-old American Stephen Hubbard, who was captured in Ukraine during Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
The retired teacher was imprisoned in Russia for years before Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to free him at Trump’s request.
“If I’m negotiating to get a man back...when you’re negotiating that — and I know that I’m doing it because a lot of people didn’t know, and they say, ‘Oh, let’s put sanctions on Russia’ — that negotiation would obviously come immediately to an end.”
When journalist Kaitlan Collins asked about Trump’s decision to waive new sanctions on Russia, the president scolded her: ‘You're a low-IQ person, you're a dummy, and you work for CNN’ (AFP via Getty Images)
Trump also went after an ABC News reporter who pressed him on the Russian sanctions.
“How is waiving those sanctions on Russia to secure the release of Hubbard not giving something to Russia in exchange?” the reporter asked.
“Are you a stupid person? Who do you work for?” Trump asked.
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When the reporter said, “ABC News,” Trump bashed the outlet.
"You're a stupid person — and by the way, your network is the worst of all,” he said.
Trump also went after an ABC News reporter who pressed him on the Russian sanctions, saying, ‘You're a stupid person’ (AFP via Getty Images)
Trump’s jabs at CNN and ABC News come after the president demanded that The Independent’s White House Correspondent Andrew Feinberg be “quiet” and asked if he was a “sick person.”
Feinberg was in the Oval Office Tuesday as Trump announced the new Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, claiming that Americans can get one percent of whatever the government recovers if they report alleged fraud in federal programs and it leads to criminal charges.
But, as Feinberg pointed out, Americans can already help the government recover funds that have been defrauded from federal programs and get 10 to 25 percent of that money through an existing law called the False Claims Act.
When Feinberg asked why someone would choose to go through the new whistleblower program when there’s already a similar initiative with a greater reward, Trump said, “Because it’s a lot of money.”
Trump’s jabs at CNN and ABC News come after the president demanded that The Independent’s White House Correspondent Andrew Feinberg be 'quiet' and asked if he was a 'sick person' (Getty Images)
Trump then spent the rest of the event snapping at Feinberg when he tried to ask other questions.
“I don’t know who the hell you are, but you better be careful,” the president said, even though Feinberg identified himself minutes earlier.
At one point, the president repeatedly told Feinberg to be “quiet” and asked, “What’s wrong with you? Are you a sick person?”
In an article about his experience being at the end of Trump’s fury, Feinberg wrote, “I was doing my job, and I’ll be right back at it tomorrow.”
Collins made a similar remark during an appearance on The Daily Show in July. When comedian Jon Stewart asked how she keeps her composure while being attacked by Trump, Collins spoke about focusing on her job.
“It’s really not about me, and I don’t want it to be about my reaction,” Collins said. “I think it's more effective to remind people in those moments, when he is insulting me or when he is criticizing me, about the question I asked...and on the non-answers that we get.”
Source: “AOL Breaking”
