President Donald Trump delivered a forceful rebuke to a reporter on Thursday after being pressed about Afghan vetting procedures linked to the suspect accused of shooting two National Guard soldiers near the White House.
Trump strongly rejected claims that the alleged gunman, Rahmanullah Lakamal, had been properly screened before entering the United States under President Biden's Operation Allies Welcome program.
Trump told reporters that Lakamal "went cuckoo" and said the tragedy was a direct consequence of the Biden administration's decision to admit thousands of unvetted Afghan nationals into the country.
"He went cuckoo, he went nuts. And that happens too often with these people," Trump said after CBS News White House correspondent Nancy Cordes noted Lakamal's ties to the CIA. "There was no vetting or anything. They came in unvetted."
When Cordes attempted to counter that the Afghans had undergone security checks, Trump fired back sharply.
"Are you a stupid person?" the president said. "Because they came in on a plane along with thousands of other people that shouldn't be here, and you're just asking questions because you're a stupid person."
Trump vowed that his administration would continue removing dangerous individuals who entered the U.S. under Biden's refugee program, saying, "We have a lot of others in this country. We're going to get them out."
He also noted, however, the legal difficulties his administration would likely face in attempting to remove such individuals.
"There's a law passed that it's almost impossible to get them out," Trump told Cordes. "You can't get them out once they come in. They came in and they were unvetted, they were unchecked, there were many of them, and they came over on big planes, and it was disgraceful."
The exchange came after Trump spoke with several U.S. military units during a Thanksgiving video call and provided them with an update on the shooting that left one National Guard soldier dead and another critically wounded.
West Virginia National Guard Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died Thursday from gunshot wounds suffered in the ambush. Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains in critical condition.
Authorities say Lakamal traveled from Washington state to the nation's capital before allegedly opening fire just blocks from the White House.
Lakamal, who previously served in Afghanistan's NDS-03 counterterrorism unit — one of several paramilitary "Zero Units" that partnered with the CIA — entered the U.S. in 2021. CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed the suspect had worked alongside the agency.
"This individual — and so many others — should have never been allowed to come here," Ratcliffe said.
Immediately after taking office for his second term, Trump halted Afghan refugee resettlement and reinstated travel restrictions on Afghanistan.
In response to the shooting, the administration has now suspended all immigration processing for Afghan nationals pending a comprehensive review of vetting practices.
USCIS Director Joseph Edlow announced a "full scale, rigorous reexamination" of every Green Card issued to individuals from "countries of concern."
Meanwhile, prosecutors say Lakamal will face murder charges. U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro and Attorney General Pam Bondi signaled they will seek the death penalty.
Newsmax Wires contributed to this report.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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