CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins said she won’t engage in a “back and forth” with President Trump after he attacked her at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, choosing instead to focus on her journalism and the questions she asks him.
Trump targeted Collins during his remarks at the rescheduled WHCD on Friday, July 24, at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington. Collins had just been honored with the 2026 Award for Excellence in Presidential News Coverage Under Deadline Pressure for her coverage of Trump’s contentious 2025 meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
During his speech, Trump dismissed her award as “fake,” saying, “I want to personally congratulate CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on receiving her award. It was all about me. It’s a fake — she shouldn’t get the award, it was a fake.” He then compared her appearance to transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney, joking that he thought Collins “had really made it big with a major new sponsorship,” but it “wasn’t her on the Bud Light can, it was Dylan Mulvaney.” Trump also criticized her for not smiling, saying she had “hatred in her eyes.”
Collins responded to the attacks during an appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Monday, July 27. When Stewart highlighted Trump’s pattern of insults toward her, Collins explained her strategy for handling them. “I think if you let it become about that, then it becomes a back-and-forth between the two of us,” she said. “And instead I think it’s more effective to remind people when he is insulting me or when he is criticizing me about the question I asked or the reporting that I did, that he was so angry about in this moment.”
Collins emphasized that winning the award for her reporting seemed to bother Trump. “The fact that I got an award for it really bothered him clearly,” she said. “And so I just think in those moments, it’s important to put the reminder back on the work, and the question and the non-answers we get.”
The journalist, who has covered Trump for a decade, said she was struck by how quiet the room was during his remarks, despite the dinner being filled with Republican allies and staffers. When Stewart asked if anyone from the White House apologizes after Trump’s attacks, Collins deflected, saying she focuses on asking questions in a way that serves all audiences — “from my family in Alabama to people in the White House to people in Washington.”
The dinner had been rescheduled after gunfire erupted outside the Washington Hilton on April 25, forcing Trump and other officials to evacuate. The event was moved to the Waldorf Astoria and held on July 24. Trump’s speech drew criticism for falling flat, with jokes that were met with silence from attendees.
Collins also responded to Trump’s attack with an Instagram post sharing an Eleanor Roosevelt quote: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” CNN issued a statement backing her, saying Collins is “an exceptional, trusted journalist” who “reports every day from the White House and the field with real strength and tenacity.”
Sources
- The Daily Beast — Collins’ interview with Jon Stewart about Trump’s attacks and her strategy for responding
- US Magazine — Details of Trump’s remarks at the WHCD and Collins’ Instagram response
- CNN — Network’s statement of support for Collins
