New Delhi, Aug. 1 -- US President Donald Trump called a reporter a "lunatic" when the latter questioned him about invoking a 1977 law to enact his sweeping tariffs.

"Why didn't you invoke this law in your first term?" the reporter asked, adding, "You could have taken in billions and billions in your first term but you wanted on until you second term [to impose tariffs]"

Trump shot back, "In my first term, I was fighting lunatics like you, who were trying to do things incorrectly and inappropriately to a president that was duly elected."

Trump took a final parting shot, calling out reporters for not covering "well" the "hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs" the administration took in from China during his first term.

Trump has cl...