After President Donald Trump derided (and misspelled the name of) CNN Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins, the reporter fired back with a response.
In a scathing post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “Caitlin Collin of Fake News CNN, always Stupid and Disgusting.” He took umbrage at the reporter’s on-air reference to the construction of the White House ballroom and the cost of ballooning it. He defended the building, which has been backlash for months, as he is planning a “much bigger and nicer” structure that is “double the size, and the quality of finishes and interiors has been brought to the highest level.”
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The GOP leader went on to claim that it is “under budget and ahead of schedule, as my jobs always are” and reiterated that “interestingly, and rarely reported, there are no taxpayer dollars involved. It is being paid for entirely by private donations.”
Trump concluded the post with another jab at CNN.
In a reply on her Instagram Story, Collins wrote, “Technically my question was about Venezuela,” referring to the administration’s bombing of alleged drug smuggling vessels off the coast of the Latin American country.
Venezuelan President-turned-dictator Nicolás Maduro said the real reason for the US military actions are the country’s oil reserves, considered the largest in the world. The State Department denied that claim, insisting that the Caribbean boat attacks, which killed more than 80 people, are part of a campaign to stop the importation of cocaine and fentanyl into the United States.
Collins made her comments about The Source with Kaitlan Collins on Friday night, but the CNN anchor was also on the red carpet at the Kennedy Center earlier in the day, when Trump was attending the FIFA World Cup Draw. There, Collins asked Trump about accepting the new FIFA peace prize at the same time the administration has been carrying out strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug boats.
Collins is just the latest female reporter Trump has singled out for attack. Back in November, Trump made headlines for calling Bloomberg News’ Catherine Lucey a “quiet piggy,” an action defended by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt as “very frank and honest” commentary, rather than a playground insult.
In general, Trump has been remarkably hostile to the press, both during his first term and the current one. He was especially controversial with journalists who dared to push back or question administrative policies, playing favorites with stores or influencers who lean towards the conservative.
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