Donald Trump launched a furious personal attack on a federal judge Monday morning, calling her a “crazed lunatic” after she refused to remove herself from a legal battle over his controversial plans to remake a historic public golf course in Washington, D.C.
The extraordinary outburst came just hours after U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes rejected the Justice Department’s attempt to disqualify her from the case involving East Potomac Golf Links, where the Trump administration’s removal of hundreds of trees has already drawn sharp judicial criticism.
Trump apparently had little interest in keeping the disagreement inside the courtroom.
“The judge on the case is a crazed lunatic,” he wrote on Truth Social, going on to question her mental state and complain about recordings of court proceedings.
He also insisted that the Interior Department has every right to proceed with its renovation plans.
“They do not need an approval,” Trump declared, adding that work was scheduled to begin immediately.
But the president’s insistence does not erase the court’s existing orders.
Reyes previously required the federal government to provide notice before undertaking substantive construction at the site. Last week, she extended a halt on further tree removal until October 26 after officials acknowledged that hundreds of trees had been cut down over a holiday weekend with little warning.
The judge had harsh words for the administration’s handling of the project, questioning the government’s explanations and demanding testimony from officials about how the clearing had been authorized.
The Justice Department responded by trying to remove her from the case.
In a Friday filing, Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward accused Reyes of displaying hostility toward the Trump administration and argued that the case should be reassigned.
Reyes rejected that argument Sunday night.
In her written decision, she said the government’s selective use of her remarks failed to establish the legal grounds necessary for recusal.
“It is easy to weaponize selective quotations to bring a baseless recusal motion,” she wrote.
The ruling left Reyes in charge of a case that has become an increasingly uncomfortable confrontation for the White House.
At the center of the dispute is East Potomac Golf Links, a century-old public recreation site along the Potomac River. Trump wants to transform the facility into a championship-level destination, with a redesign that could take approximately 15 months.
The administration says the improvements will make the course safer and more prestigious. Critics, including preservation advocates and local golfers, argue that the project threatens historic features, environmental protections, and public access to an important Washington landmark.
The legal fight intensified after federal workers removed hundreds of trees. Administration officials maintain that the clearing was part of an older restoration and safety plan unrelated to Trump’s proposed overhaul.
Opponents have challenged that explanation, while Reyes has pressed officials to explain the timing and scope of the work.
The dispute has also exposed an awkward contradiction in the administration’s position.
In court, government lawyers previously described the proposed renovation as being in an early, conceptual stage. Trump, meanwhile, publicly announced that the course would close on November 15 for a major reconstruction.
And now the president is claiming the government can proceed without additional approval, even as the court continues to examine whether the administration has complied with its legal obligations.
There has been no final ruling establishing that every aspect of Trump’s renovation is unlawful. But the existing court restrictions remain significant, and the president’s social media declarations do not themselves overturn them.
The episode fits a broader pattern of confrontation over Trump’s efforts to reshape Washington landmarks, including other projects that have drawn legal challenges and questions about presidential authority.
What makes Monday’s attack particularly striking is its timing.
The administration asked for a different judge. Reyes refused. And rather than respond only through legal filings or an appeal, Trump used his presidential platform to question the judge’s sanity.
A dispute that began over a public golf course has become another test of how the president responds when a federal judge refuses to give his administration what it wants.

Trump is a toddler. He also has no buisness sense. He’s failed at everything he started then attempts to hide it by stealing from the American people. He’s a danger to himself and the American people. He’s not a nobody, he’s a never was. No one was ever afraid of him until Heritage foundation project 2025 started backing him with there own agenda of authoritarian rule then fascism. Thiel, Vaughn and the other authors have tried since Reagan and Bush’s administrations and failed
Don’t forget to mention the Israeli Mob & Putin himself.