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All posts tagged "kaitlan collins"

Trump's attack on Kaitlan Collins backfires as CNN and MS NOW use it for lawsuit

President Donald Trump's own words are being used against him as CNN and MS NOW boost their lawsuit against his White House media ban.

On Tuesday, several developments came in regarding CNN and MS NOW's lawsuit against Trump, even as the White House had yet to file its response before a deadline set for the end of the day.

Among the developments was CNN and MS NOW's lawyers adding to the court record Trump's attack against CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins at the United Nations earlier in the day.

Trump told Collins, "You shouldn't be here," because of the White House ban on CNN last week. Collins explained in the moment that she was let in by the United Nations.

MeidasTouch Capitol Hill correspondent Scott MacFarlane reported in a post on X that lawyers for CNN and MS NOW were submitting the statement as an exhibit to U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, ahead of a court hearing on Wednesday.

Lawyers for the banned media outlets didn't finish there. Fallon Gallagher, a legal affairs reporter for MS NOW, reported via a post on X that lawyers for CNN and MS NOW, who are also representing Politico, informed Kelly of a D.C. Circuit Court ruling that "held the East Steps of the U.S. Capitol are a 'nonpublic forum' -- much like the White House -- and therefore any press restrictions must be 'viewpoint neutral.'"

The D.C. Circuit Court ruling about the East Steps came from a Trump appointee, who wrote the majority opinion, and was backed by an appointee of George H.W. Bush.

According to Gallagher, "the lawyers are using this ruling as additional evidence in support of the TRO ahead of tomorrow's hearing," referring to the temporary restraining order they're seeking to block the ban.

Meanwhile, Kellie Meyer, the White House correspondent for NewsNation, reported that the White House had no primary TV pool listed for Wednesday, but the secondary TV pool is led by Lindell TV, the outlet of MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, an election denier who lost the Republican primary for Minnesota governor.

'Remarkable': Military expert's detail about Hegseth's impact floors Kaitlan Collins

A retired Air Force secretary's description of how Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has impacted the military shocked Kaitlan Collins.

During a Wednesday interview, Collins interviewed Frank Kendall about the military under Hegseth. Kendall said that Hegseth's "witch hunt for people who are supposedly woke" and attack on dissent have frightened the ranks and diminished morale to the point where the military is struggling to operate.

"In a word, it's dysfunctional," Kendall said, answering a question from Collins about his assessment of what's happening in the military and Pentagon right now. "I've worked with and had a chance to work for maybe a dozen secretaries of defense. He's doing active harm to the Department of Defense. It's not passive. It's active harm."

Kendall penned an op-ed for the New York Times on Tuesday in which he argued that the military can't deny the damage of the Trump administration any longer. Kendall expanded on the arguments he made in the piece during his interview with Collins and pointed to problems like the firings of dozens of general officers and the removal of people from promotion lists.

"Both of these are totally unprecedented," Kendall said about the firings and removals. "The climate of fear that's been created is very palpable. It's affecting everybody in how they work. It's affecting the quality of advice that's being given. People are afraid to say something that's not going to be approved of."

Kendall said that Hegseth's "witch hunt" on woke "has a lot of people scared. Even in the first Trump administration, when emphasizing DEI was part of policy, people would make speeches about it, and now they're being punished for that."

He described it as "a very tough climate to work in," and added, "I am in touch with a lot of people. I just talked to someone recently who are service and questioning whether they should remain in the service or not continue to serve their country because of the climate they're working in."

Collins reacted to the detail by shouting, "That's remarkable," and followed up by asking, "You've spoken with people who are considering leaving the military altogether because of the environment right now?"

"That's right," Kendall said, which was followed by a long silence.

Trump's 'sick and demeaning moment' revealed his greatest fear: Ex-GOP strategist

Former Republican insider Steve Schmidt argued on Wednesday that President Donald Trump's biggest fear is someone who tries to hold him accountable — like CNN's Kaitlan Collins.

In his podcast and video series "The Warning," the co-founder of the anti-Trump organization, The Lincoln Project, compared Trump's "Trojan horse" move in Turkey, where he left journalists and his own aides as "bait on the chum plane" under a credible threat, to former President Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II. He juxtaposed this with the moment FDR learned that a torpedo was fired at the USS Iowa, where he rushed to the rail to see it coming towards the ship.

"When he was aboard a presidential aircraft flying with Dwight Eisenhower sitting next to him shortly after giving him command of the D-Day operation with the hydraulics out on the airplane, FDR lit a cigarette, threw his head back and laughed at all of it," Schmidt said, citing a book from Rick Atkinson that describes the incident.

"He says we'll see how good those Army Air Corps pilots are and has a big laugh," Schmidt said. "That's what courage under fire looks like. That's what cool under fire looks like. But this man, intimidated by Kaitlan Collins, is no FDR. He's no Eisenhower. He's the weakest American president in history, with a yellow stain as wide as his ankles running down the middle of his back. This is a fearful man, and you see it all the time."

As Trump made his way off Air Force One with a catering cart, it revealed more about him "as an obese American fascist," Schmidt explained. And his reaction after the reports surfaced was telling.

"Look at this decaying geriatric sloth trying to make it up these stairs," Schmidt said. "Look at him coming down. Look at the bruising on his hand, the skin color, the preposterous wig. Decrepitude and decay etched all over his body and face. And we, the people, are his prisoners in a dungeon of rot and American decay."

"With Pete Hegseth and little Marco as bait and Donald Trump safe on his way back to the loving arms of Melania," Schmidt added, mocking Trump. "What a sick and demeaning moment, perhaps in all the history of the country, the lowest in the history of the degraded American presidency."

Trump's attack may backfire as Jon Stewart hands Kaitlan Collins a chance to fire back

CNN's Kaitlan Collins could get the last word against President Donald Trump on Monday night.

Collins will be the guest on Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" after Trump's bizarre attack on the correspondent during the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Friday, The Daily Beast reported.

The reporter has been a long target of criticism by the president and was expected to respond to the president's obsession with her during her appearance on Stewart's show. Stewart has been a vocal opponent of Trump and has often spoken out about him.

Collins received an award at the WHCD for her coverage of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to the Oval Office in 2025.

In his speech at the event, Trump mocked Collins' looks and demeanor.

"I wanna personally congratulate CNN's Kaitlan Collins on receiving her award; was all about me, it's a fake, she shouldn't get the award." He then added that Collins is "a young, attractive woman" who "never smiles," telling the audience, "I said, 'Kaitlan, do you ever smile? Smile. You have a nice position. You're at CNN fake news. You should be a happy person. Just smile, Kaitlan.'"

Trump then compared Collins to transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, joking that he'd mistakenly thought she'd landed "a major new sponsorship" before realizing "it wasn't her on the Bud Light can."

She later posted a pointed message paired with an Eleanor Roosevelt quote on social media.

Trump on Sunday escalated his multi-day spat with Collins when he shared an AI image of her as Mulvaney.

Trump rage-quits press gaggle after CNN's Kaitlan Collins questions new war strikes

CNN's Kaitlan Collins pressed President Donald Trump about the war in Iran when he decided to suddenly end a White House press conference on Monday.

Trump was speaking at the Oval Office to a group of reporters when he cut the questions short and lashed out against the network. The president had told reporters that the United States had plans to ramp up attacks on Iran, as Trump had ordered a new blockade against Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.

"The US is bombing Iran again. You've been bombing Iran for months now. Is this just the new normal for the American people?" Collins asked.

Trump started to complain about CNN and its coverage of the Iran war.

"All they have is fake news because the fake news would rather see us lose the war," Trump said.

Collins responded to Trump.

"You argued Iran couldn't have ballistic missiles," Collins said.

But Trump kept talking about CNN and "fake news."

"Which is really treasonous in a certain way. So we're doing another very major attack tonight," Trump said.

Trump abruptly ended the press conference after his rant to Collins, and aides hurriedly shuffled reporters out of the room.

MAGA senator skewered online after 'surreal' CNN remarks on Trump deal

A MAGA senator was walloped online after he parroted a head-spinning Trump defense of his dubious Iran deal.

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) was asked by CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins on Wednesday about Trump's deal to end the war with Iran.

"Are you okay with Iran having missiles?" Collins asked.

Marshall responded, "I prefer that they not, but they have to defend themselves," echoing Trump, who hours earlier defended letting Iran keep its ballistic missiles because "other people have some."

Commentators online let Marshall have it for his overt effort to remain in lockstep with Trump.

"This guy will say whatever Trump says on any given day," Ron Filipkowski, the editor-in-chief of the MeidasTouch news network, said. "He has no core beliefs. His political philosophy is whatever position Trump takes today, which may be different from the position Trump had yesterday."

"Trump/flunkie Republican senator says Iran has to be able to defend itself," summarized journalist John Harwood.

"Couldn't we have just come to this conclusion before 13 Americans and thousands of Iranians died for nothing?" asked American Saga writer Zaid Jilani.

"So America's adversaries need to be able to defend themselves against America for America's sake?" wondered Max Meizlish, a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. "Got it. Nothing to see here. Nothing weird going on at all."

Spanish-language journalist León Krauze described the comments as "surreal." Meanwhile, Pradheep J. Shanker, a doctor and contributor for the National Review, simply wrote, "JFC" to express his frustration.

Revealed: GOP insider shares what sparked bitter Trump vendetta against Kaitlan Collins

President Donald Trump has singled out CNN's Kaitlan Collins for particular harassment — and it’s not just because she asks him tough questions.

To the president, his vehemence towards the star reporter is personal, according to a former Republican strategist with insider knowledge.

Rick Wilson, co-founder of The Lincoln Project, told Raw Story in an exclusive interview that a source close to Trump told him that Trump resents Collins because he feels she owes him for her success.

Trump has gone after multiple women in the White House press corps, and has a history of attacking them with derogatory remarks and put-downs. None has come under more criticism than Collins.

"A young beautiful woman [who] never smiles," Trump said about her in the Oval Office earlier this month. "I never see a smile on her face. I see her standing there with hatred in her eyes."

He's previously called her "stupid and nasty" on Truth Social, and told her to "be quiet."

The resentment is born from an interview Collins conducted years ago, Wilson said.

“Part of that is Trump’s head game he plays with people in general,” Wilson told Raw Story. “He aggressively messes with people — that has always happened. That’s been a character trait of his for a long time, and for Collins it’s particularly personal.”

“Trump believes that the CNN interview he did with Kaitlan Collins, that she did when she was first elevated by Jeff Zucker, Trump believes that she owes him because that ‘made her career,’” Wilson said.

Collins moderated a tense live CNN Town Hall with Trump in May 2023. In 2024, shortly after Trump's election win, Collins was promoted into a position that was “unprecedented,” according to CNN. She was now an anchor and chief White House correspondent.

And, Wilson said, Trump thinks her meteoric rise came because of the 2023 event.

He thinks "she owes him," and she has made no effort to pay that debt, Wilson said. And he has resented that.

“I think he probably does believe that,” Wilson said.

Raw Story contacted CNN, Collins’ employer. The company and anchor declined to comment.

Just hours before the Oval Office interaction between Trump and Collins on June 3, Collins appeared on Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.” During the late-night show on June 2, Cohen asked her if she or anyone else will ever snap as Trump pushes them.

Cohen noted that Trump has shown serious disdain for the female reporters at the White House.

"It seems to me that at some point someone is going to break," Cohen said.

"I mean, do you ever see that happening? Like, is there someone in the press corps that you look at and think they're going to break?" Cohen asked Collins.

Collins said that most reporters have focused on the questions and covering the stories at hand, and added “never say never.”

Wilson said it comes down to a few key facts — and that drives many women facing his aggressive remarks to push forward and question Trump — despite the insults.

“Notoriously, Donald Trump is not a fan of women,” Wilson said.

“That White House hard pass is pretty damn magical in making people shut up and behave,” he added. “White House correspondent is traditionally a pathway to greater prominence in the media, so people are willing to basically take the s— from Donald Trump to be there.”

Just days later, Trump berated NBC's Kristen Welker and walked off the set of “Meet the Press,” ending the interview during a heavy rainstorm beneath a tin roof barn in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, after refusing to provide any evidence supporting his claims that the 2020 election was rigged, among other false points he tried to argue. After Welker pushed back and challenged him, he had a meltdown and called it off.

"Let's call it quits, because I've had enough. Thank you, darling," Trump said.

Trump attacks CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins for not smiling: 'Hatred in her eyes'

President Donald Trump ranted against CNN's Kaitlan Collins and attacked her during a White House press conference on Wednesday, claiming she "never smiles."

Trump was criticizing Collins' network after a question about the $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund when he turned his attention to the CNN anchor.

"Some of you will believe it, like CNN will believe it, because they knew what was going on and they're crooked as hell. CNN is a very corrupt organization," he said.

Trump started to take aim at Collins, whom he has attacked during previous press events.

"She's a young, beautiful woman. Never smiles. I never see a smile off her face, I see her standing there with hatred in her eyes, like she has hatred because we have borders, because we have a strong military, because we cut our taxes, because we do things that everybody wanted and then we win our election in a massive landslide."

He said, "The reporter should be happy," describing the war in Iran as "a detour," and part of "saving our country."

CNN told Raw Story in a statement: “Kaitlan Collins is an exceptional journalist, reporting every day from the White House and the field with real depth and tenacity. She skillfully brings that reporting to the anchor chair and CNN platforms every day, which audiences around the world know they can trust.”

CNN's Kaitlan Collins confronts JD Vance with his own past words on J6 rioters

CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins directly asked Vice President JD Vance about his previous comments about Jan. 6 rioters as the Trump administration faced backlash over the Justice Department's compensation fund on Tuesday.

Collins mentioned the contradicting remarks during a fiery White House press conference, just a day after the DOJ announced a $1.776 billion taxpayer-funded compensation fund for President Donald Trump's allies, including Jan. 6 rioters, who claim political targeting by previous administrations.

Vance appeared to reverse his stance, telling Collins and the group of reporters that people who attacked Capitol police should not be ruled out from the DOJ fund.

"You previously told me that anyone who assaulted a police officer on Jan. should go to prison. So why not rule out giving them taxpayer-funded money?" Collins asked.

"Well, Kaitlan, what I said is we're going to look at everything case by case," Vance said.

But Collins wanted Vance to clarify what he was saying.

"Why not rule it out?" Collins said, pushing back.

"Because, Kaitlan, there are people who I don't know their individual circumstances and I don't rule things out categorically when I know nothing about a person's individual circumstances," Vance said.

GOP senator forced to eat his own words on curious flip-flop in awkward CNN segment

A GOP senator was forced to backtrack on comments he made regarding filibusters after he switched sides when it came to voting on the Iran war.

"When Republicans were in the minority, you described it and repeatedly defended it as vital and necessary to protect minority parties' rights," CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins told Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) during an appearance on her show on Thursday.

Scott had been complaining about how Democrats "only block all the votes" Republicans try to make. He blamed "this sixty-vote threshold, which I think we ought to get rid of."

"Why do you have a different position now that Republicans are in the majority?" Collins asked Scott.

"Well then, let's do the filibuster," he said, pulling a full 180 and changing the issue. "We're not making people talk. The filibuster was set up, so I'm fine with it if we were going to do the filibuster, where people have to talk."

Collins, not really buying what Scott was selling, brought up that Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said that the filibuster is still around because "y'all, Republicans, don't have the votes to get rid of that."

"Well, I'm from Florida," he responded. "This is what I believe in. I talk to the people in my state. They agree with me."

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