Trump asks ABC reporter ‘Are you a stupid person?’ over Hubbard sanctions question

On Tuesday it was “Are you a sick person?” By Wednesday he’d narrowed the diagnosis.

Walking out to Marine One, Trump got a question from an ABC News reporter: how was waiving the Russia sanctions to get Stephen Hubbard released not giving Russia something? “Are you a stupid person? Who do you work for?” Told ABC: “You’re a stupid person. And by the way, your network is the worst of all.” Hubbard, 74, held by Russia for more than four years, is free, and that part is good news. The question was about the price.

The question was also his own argument, read back to him. A few minutes earlier in the same gaggle, he’d explained that “a lot of stupid people said, and people that don’t know how life works,” that he should be putting sanctions on Russia in the middle of a hostage negotiation. “If I would have done that, you would not have Mr. Hubbard coming back.” That morning on Truth Social, though, the U.S. “was not required to give anything in return.” Last week he waived sanctions on Russia just before they were due to take effect. So: Russia got nothing, the sanctions he skipped were the reason Hubbard got out, and anyone who notices that those two claims don’t fit is stupid.