Akayla Gardner is an excellent reporter and White House correspondent for MSNOW (MSNBC). And as you may have seen this week, she's not afraid to push back against Trump and his lies.
Donald Trump, a chronic jerk, berated Gardner for asking an entirely fair question and correctly pointing out his obvious lie about his ballroom project.
"You wanted [Federal Reserve Chair] Jerome Powell fired for cost overruns," Gardner pointed out to Trump, referring to the Fed's ongoing renovation project of its Washington headquarters. "How is that different than your ballroom and the reflecting pool?"
"What happened is that we have a ballroom that's under budget," Trump replied. "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." [NOTE: This is all bullsh*t]
"The price has doubled," Gardner pointed out.
Trump snapped back: "I doubled the size of it, you dumb person. You are not a smart person."
Trump lies as casually as most people breathe, and Gardner did exactly what good reporters are supposed to do: calmly, firmly, and publicly push back with facts.
This is the kind of courage that is in short supply these days, with far too many people too afraid (perhaps understandably) to get in his path.
And for that, she deserves thanks, not abuse.
Thank you, Akayla Gardner, for standing strong against Trump's lies.
