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Trump calls reporter ‘dumb’ after saying he’s ‘doubled’ size of ballroom

President Trump on Tuesday defended the size and cost of the White House ballroom, then insulted a reporter who asked him about the scope of the project.

“We have a ballroom under budget. I doubled the size because we clearly need it,” Trump told reporters before leaving for China. “And right now we are over budget, under budget and ahead of schedule.”

When pressed about the size of the ballroom, Trump pushed the reporter: “I doubled it, you stupid person. You’re not a smart person.”

The footprint and price of the ballroom that will replace the White House’s now-demolished East Wing have fluctuated since Trump first announced the plans last summer.

But the president pushed back on concerns about the cost of the project because he said: IT It will be funded entirely by wealthy donors. He initially said the cost would be $200 million, but it later increased to $400 million.

The comments came as the GOP included $1 billion for ballroom security in the Senate budget reconciliation bill. But Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Monday there was a good chance it would be removed from the bill before it is introduced to the Senate floor.

White House officials met with Senate Republicans at lunch on Tuesday and provided line-by-line information on what the $1 billion would include.

That cost would include “hardening” the White House complex, a visitor screening facility, training, improvements to the security of those protected, evolving threats and technology, and events of national significance, according to the document detailed at the luncheon.

Trump and some Republicans have increasingly touted the need for the ballroom since the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner last month.

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