President Donald Trump blew up at a reporter Thursday after being challenged on his repeated — and false — claim that Afghan migrants allowed into the United States were not vetted. The tense exchange unfolded during a press conference in Palm Beach, Florida, and quickly turned into one of Trump’s most hostile public outbursts in recent months.
“There was no vetting or anything, they came in unvetted! And we have a lot of others in this country, we’re going to get them out,” Trump insisted, tying his claim to Wednesday’s deadly shooting in Washington, D.C., where an Afghan migrant shot two National Guard members. One of the victims died Thursday evening.
The problem: Afghan migrants were vetted by the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI — information that’s been public for years and was reaffirmed in a DOJ inspector general report. When a reporter pointed this out, Trump snapped.
“Actually, your DOJ, [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 U.S., so why do you blame the Biden administration for what this man did?” the reporter asked.
Trump responded with pure fury: “Because they let him in! Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person?” he barked back, his voice rising as he leaned into the lectern.
He didn’t stop there: “Because they came in on a plane along with thousands of other people who shouldn’t be here, and you’re just asking questions because you’re a stupid person! And – we – there’s a law passed that it’s almost possible to get them out once they come in.”
The rant landed like a shockwave in the room — even for a Trump press conference, where confrontation is expected. This time, though, the anger seemed sharper, the insults more personal.
Conservative allies quickly echoed Trump’s blame of the Biden administration for the D.C. shooting, including Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) and FBI Director Kash Patel, who have seized on the tragedy to criticize how the administration handled the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal.
But the facts remain unchanged: federal officials vetted the Afghan migrants before entry. Trump’s claim was false, and when pressed with the truth, he fired back with insults rather than answers.
Watch the clip below:
