There’s a word for people who think that Donald Trump only became president to make money.

And that word is “fool.”

Trump spent $66 million of his own money on his 2016 campaign. His businesses have faced boycotts from his enemies.

And, oh, yeah, he doesn’t accept a salary for being president.

So when NBC News reporter Hallie Jackson asked Trump to promise the American people he wasn’t looking to profit from the presidency, Trump let her have it with both barrels.

“The only thing I care about is this country,” he said.

And Jackson deserved the snarling response that followed.

Jackson’s question was in reference to Trump’s proposal that next year’s G7 summit could be held at one of his properties in Miami.

Trump National Doral Miami is large and secure enough to accommodate the event, and it’s easy for world leaders to access from Miami’s airport.

But Trump went out of his way to embarrass Jackson, and point out that that in no way meant his involvement in politics was for the sole purpose of enriching him.

“[Because of] a combination of loss and opportunity, probably it’ll cost me anywhere from $3-5 billion to be president,” Trump reminded Jackson and the rest of the assembled media.

Then Trump let loose with nine short words that explained his motivation and left Jackson and her fellow reporters silenced.

Trump pointed out that he no longer gets paid to make speeches: he does them for free.

And he’s no longer making business deals for himself — he makes them for all of America.

Jackson learned a hard truth about dealing with Trump. Ask a stupid question, and expect a blistering response.

You can watch the entire exchange below:

The Horn editorial team