President Trump unleashed a blistering personal attack on CNN correspondent Kaitlan Collins during a Wednesday Oval Office press session, accusing her of having “hatred in her eyes” and claiming she never smiles. The outburst came as he fielded questions about his recently defunct “anti-weaponization” fund, which he described as “a beautiful thing.”
Trump pivoted from defending the fund to excoriating CNN, calling the network “crooked as hell” and “a very corrupt organization.” He then zeroed in on Collins, a veteran White House reporter. “But with a corrupt reporter standing right there, never smiles,” he said. “You never see a young, beautiful woman who never smiles. I never see a smile on her face. I see her standing there with hatred in her eyes.”
The president attributed Collins’s supposed animosity to his policy agenda, including border security, military strength, tax cuts, and his 2024 electoral victory, which he called a “massive landslide.” He later returned to attacking CNN and the New York Times, accusing them of abusing “our people so badly.” When Collins tried to interject, Trump cut her off with a sharp “be quiet.”
Trump then reminded Collins of her conservative roots, saying, “You used to be a conservative. She was a conservative from Alabama. Can you believe it?” He went on to suggest that CNN’s new ownership—under Paramount, led by Trump ally David Ellison, which recently acquired Warner Bros., CNN’s parent company—might improve the network, but added, “It’s so hard to straighten garbage out.”
This is far from the first time Trump has targeted Collins. In February, he criticized her for not smiling, an observation that Vice President Vance later praised as “so perceptive.” In an interview with Megyn Kelly, Vance defended Trump’s remark, saying, “She’s asking a question and the president says, ‘Why don’t you ever smile?’ And it’s actually, like, so perceptive even if you’re asking a tough question, even if you take your job very seriously. Like, why does it always have to be so antagonistic?”
In December, Trump called Collins “stupid and nasty” after she asked about construction on the White House ballroom; she later corrected him on social media, writing that her question was actually about Venezuela. Trump has also attacked other female reporters, including telling a Bloomberg journalist to be “Quiet, piggy” in November after she asked about Jeffrey Epstein, and labeling a New York Times reporter “ugly, both inside and out” following a story on his health and fitness.
The repeated attacks have drawn criticism from some media figures. Former CNN anchor Don Lemon recently urged White House reporters to “stand up” and show “some dignity and backbone” in the face of such presidential insults. The incident underscores the ongoing tension between the Trump administration and mainstream media outlets, particularly as the Senate moves on a $70 billion immigration bill after a GOP revolt over Trump's anti-weaponization fund.
