All posts tagged "kaitlan collins"

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."

'Chaos in the ballroom': Journalists detail evacuation at WH Correspondents' Dinner

Journalists covering the White House Correspondents' Dinner described the chaotic scene that led to the evacuation of President Donald Trump and a shooter reportedly dead.

"I did not hear any shots. You just hear yelling like a commotion, someone coming through the room," a journalist told C-SPAN commentators during live coverage of the dinner. "I instinctively got under the table. Other people got under the table."

CNN journalist Brian Stelter told viewers that Oz Pearlman was talking to President Donald Trump at his table, "and all of a sudden all hell broke loose."

CNN's Kaitlan Collins reported that the dinner was in a "total state of chaos in the ballroom" and that there was "a shooter outside" before it was verified.

"We are now basically locked inside the ballroom," Collins added. "I've never seen anything like this in my life."

Other journalists told C-SPAN commentators that they were "not sure what happened," but suddenly they saw "Secret Service running on tables."

Karoline Leavitt unleashes on CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins to her face: 'Especially you!'

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt directly attacked CNN's Kaitlan Collins on Wednesday during the first press briefing since the United States and its ally Israel launched military strikes against Iran.

Leavitt had made several comments criticizing media coverage of the Trump administration and went after reporters at the White House, specifically Collins and CNN.

The Trump administration has presented several different objectives since launching its military operation five days ago — with Cabinet members and even President Donald Trump giving conflicting information over what prompted the attacks and led to the regional conflict that has now left six American troops dead.

"Is it the position of this administration that the press should not prominently cover the deaths of U.S. service members?" Collins asked Leavitt.

"No, it's the position of this administration that the press in this room and the press across this country should report on the success of Operation Epic Fury and the damage it is doing to the rogue Iranian regime that has threatened the lives of every single American in this room," Leavitt said. "If the Iranian regime had their choice, they would kill every single person in this room, and so we can all be very grateful that we have an administration, that we have men and women in our armed forces who are willing to sacrifice their own lives for the rest of us in this room and for every American across the country, and for every troop that is based in the Middle East."

Collins pushed back on what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had said earlier Wednesday. When Leavitt started to clash with her, things became personal.

"But Secretary Hegseth was complaining that it was front-page news about these six service members who were killed," Collins said.

"That's not what the secretary said, and that's not what he meant, and you know it!" Leavitt said, appearing visibly upset by Collins' statement. "You are being disingenuous. There is not — we've never had a secretary of defense who cares more..."

Collins then interjected and read the statement directly from Hegseth, who had claimed that the press had purposefully tried to speak badly about Trump.

"The press only wants to make the president look bad," Leavitt said. As you know, the press, the deaths of U.S. service members under every president. The press does only want to make the president look bad. That's a fact. Especially, you know, listen to me, especially you, and especially CNN, and the secretary of defense cares deeply about our warfighters and our men and women in uniform. He travels all across this country to meet with them, to connect with them. And your network has hardly ever probably reported on that."

Collins responded again to Leavitt's attacks — pointing out that covering the slain military members was not an attempt to attack Trump.

"That's not making the president look bad, that's showcasing that," Collins said.

"And I just told you that the president of the United States will be attending their dignified transfer. So please. So, please," Leavitt said. "We expect you to cover that as you should, Kaitlan. But you and your network know that you take every single thing this administration says and tries to use it to make the president look bad. That is an objective fact."

Collins pushed back again.

"I don't think covering troop deaths is trying to make the president look bad," Collins said.

"If you're trying to argue right now that CNN's overwhelming coverage is not negative of President Donald Trump, I think the American people would tend to agree, and your ratings would tend to disagree with that as well," Leavitt said.

Explosive Pam Bondi hearing 'could be her last' as she did what Trump hates most: analyst

Attorney General Pam Bondi's combative performance with lawmakers could be her last, an analyst explained Thursday.

Joanna Coles, Chief Creative and Content Officer of The Daily Beast, described how Bondi's behavior was meant for an audience of one — President Donald Trump — but how that might have backfired.

"Because these hearings, like so much political theater now, are staged for an audience of one: the great and powerful Donald Trump. So while Bondi thought she was playing the role of loyal defender, her sneering responses and burn book takedowns turned her into something else: the Angry Woman. And that is not something her boss would order from Central Casting," Coles wrote.

Bondi did the one thing Trump has openly criticized: women who do not behave in the way he wants them to.

"Yet Trump has made something else equally clear over the years: he does not like 'angry women,'” Coles explained.

Bondi, who was facing a high pressure situation to respond to the Department of Justice's conduct and criticism over the Epstein files and treatment of survivors, lashed out against lawmakers with yelling, insults and name-calling. It was opposite of what he likes, as "his preference has always skewed toward the ornamental: Melania Trump, serene and sphinx-like; Ivanka Trump, polished and now conspicuously silent in his second administration."

Trump has complained about CNN's Kaitlin Collins not smiling around him; he's called Hillary Clinton a "nasty woman."

"Trump prefers women who smile. Women who glide. Women who understand that in Trump’s court, volume control is permitted, but only if it belongs to him," Coles wrote.

Any woman's behavior differing from that, not necessarily a man, is unappealing to him.

"Trump likes dominance," Coles wrote. "He likes control. He likes television moments in which he is the axis and others orbit smoothly around him. What he does not enjoy is watching subordinates seize the emotional spotlight or, worse, look as though they might combust on live television."

Trump views a woman's fury as "dangerous currency" and could ultimately view Bondi's reactions as mentally unstable, and as Coles pointed out, "instability is fatal."

“'You’re fired' has always been more about mood than merit. It’s possible that Bondi’s ugly performance could be her last. And if it is, it’s her own fault. The fix was obvious. If only she had smiled more," Coles wrote.

Bully Trump cut me out — because he couldn't scare me

There’s been a lot of support this week for CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, who got berated by the Giant Orange Snowflake Epstein Bestie for simply Doing A Journalism While Female in the Oval Office.

But it’s also a classic example of who Trump has always been, and therefore should be used as an example of how to fight back against him.

🚨TRUMP MELTS DOWN AT KAITLAN COLLINSTrump lost it when CNN reporterKaitlan Collins asked him an Epstein related question.Share this widely. linnocent people don't act like this:KEEP THE HEAT UP. HE'S PANICKING.

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— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@calltoactivism.bsky.social) February 3, 2026 at 5:39 PM

The vainglorious, short-fingered vulgarian bloviated loudly, steamrolled Collins’ questions, and even busted out some tired “You should smile more” misogyny that no woman in history has ever enjoyed hearing, especially from someone who’s never given any of us anything to smile about.

Bullies are the weakest people. There’s nothing strong about needing to put another person down, to feel bigger and stronger. They learn soon that no one will respect them, so the next best thing is to instill fear.

At the same time, all bullying is rooted in jealousy. In Trump’s case, it also comes with a whopping dose of self-victimization and the need to assert power over anyone who might expose him as the spineless coward he is.

As kids, we’re taught to stand up to bullies, even if they’re bigger. “Don’t let them push you around like that!” my father barked at me when I was bullied in sixth grade. Imagine if Trump had been a truck driver in New Jersey in the 1970s and '80s — that’s my dad. He bullied me for getting bullied, so I learned how to stand up and push back. That included pushing back at him. Instead of letting my abuser continue to abuse me, I cut him out of my life.

That’s not as easy to do with Trump, but it’s a problem that never should have existed. When he descended that gold escalator to launch his first bid for president in 2015, I knew exactly what he was: a smarmy, slimy, chauvinistic playboy who thought he was better looking and more powerful than he actually was.

Groomed first by Roy Cohn, then by Vladimir Putin, Donny Daddy Issues got all the attention and ego-boosting he thirsted for. The false bravado grew as he created his own legend. He famously pushed back against any woman who interviewed him — like Barbara Walters and Lesley Stahl.

When he hit the campaign trail, his attacks on the media surged. Even the most professional of journalists were taken aback by his attacks — but few were able to prevail over the tactics he learned from Daddy Vladdy: deny, deflect, and distract.

Trump was astute enough to understand how to play to his few strengths. E. Jean Carroll can attest to how he used his physicality to intimidate women, and we’ve all seen him steamroll anyone who asks questions he doesn’t like.

Guess who else asked him questions he didn’t like?

Me, that’s who.

I’m 5ft tall and weigh maybe a buck-five, so I love knowing that huge homunculus of an adjudicated rapist is scared of me.

Such a fearless leader, huh? Yell louder, Tiny. I can’t hear you because you’ve never unblocked me.

MAGA loves the “loudest person is always right” approach, because then they don’t have to hear anything that makes them feel bad. They’ve all taken on Trump’s persona in their pursuit of “owning the Libs,” a goal apparently more important than making sure they can feed their families or afford health care. And that whole Epstein files thing? Just a “Democrat hoax” pushed by the “fake news media.”

I’ve already written about Trump’s favorite way to scapegoat the media and any others who dare challenge him. But that certainly wasn’t the first time I tried to get their attention.

Trump’s abusiveness left the mainstream media (MSM for short) incapable of covering Joe Biden accurately. While he and VP Kamala Harris were undoing the damage of the first illegitimate Trump regime, the MSM was all, “Will Trump run again?”

When Biden pulled us out of Trump’s pandemic depression and lifted all other global economies with us, the MSM breathlessly covered Trump’s FOUR DIFFERENT ARRESTS, simply watching as MAGA turned his mugshot into a badge of honor instead of yet another Hall of Shame moment.

“The MSM has PTSD from TFG,” I wrote in October 2023. Remember when Biden called Trump “The Former Guy”? Dark Brandon should’ve been the media’s darling, not the convicted felon rapist who fomented an insurrection and stole classified documents from the White House. It’s still true. Ironically, I submitted that as an op-ed to the Washington Post, which has now fully capitulated to Putin’s puppet. Its new masthead should read “Trumpism Over Journalism,” as it helps our democracy die, drowned in Dark Money.

But if I can stand up to the bully, so can Kaitlan Collins and anyone else he targets. Trump will continue to abuse anyone who asks him about Epstein, but that can’t mean no one asks him about Epstein.

My advice comes from my GenX experiences and every '80s movie where the bullies finally lose, after a montage where the nerds build a clubhouse or something, all set to “New Song” by Howard Jones.

Just ask Trump why he’s never released the full and unredacted Epstein files, to exonerate himself. When Trump goes after that person — and he will — the next person should ask the same question. And the next. Use your voices together. Be louder than him. Say it’s your job to get the truth to the people. He won’t know what to do with a united front like that, and you’ll be exposing his weakness live on camera.

Give it a try. It’s only our democracy at stake. Use the truth as a shield instead of letting him hurt us with his lies.

Tara Dublin is a political writer/commentator based in Portland, OR, who has been blocked by Donald Trump on Twitter since August 2015 and can occasionally be heard as a fill-in host on SiriusXM Progress. She is also the author of The Sound of Settling, a rock ‘n’ roll love story available at taradublinrocks.com

'Striking': CNN's Kaitlan Collins floored by Pete Hegseth's 'telling' boat killing remark

CNN anchor and chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins was taken aback Tuesday by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's "telling" remark on his boat strikes during a cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump.

"I think what was most striking to me is what Jim [Sciutto] was just referencing there, which was the comment by Secretary Hegseth when he was directly asked if he was aware that there were survivors after that first initial strike happened during this boat strike that happened on Sept. 2, the one that has generated so much controversy here in Washington and even has Republicans on Capitol Hill now demanding answers about how this went down," Collins said.

"And I thought what was really telling there was he was asked about a comment that Secretary Hegseth had made in the aftermath of this strike," she added.

"Remember, at that time, the administration had released about 30 seconds of a video that the president had posted of this strike. That is something that did not show the second subsequent strike that happened there," she said.

"And Secretary Hegseth was asked, given he said at the time that he watched this strike happen live from obviously his situation [room] at the Pentagon. If he had seen that second strike actually take place. And I want you to listen to what the Secretary had to say about the timeline here, because I think this is critical information and is also something that we have not heard yet from the Defense Department," Collins added.

Hegseth had criticized the press asking him questions during the cabinet meeting, and also revealed something unknown — that he wasn't present when the second strike was ordered.

"So I said 'I'm going to be the one to make the call' after getting all the information and making sure it's the right strike," Hegseth said. "That was Sept. 2.... I watched that first strike live. As you can imagine, at the Department of War, we've got a lot of things to do, so I didn't stick around for the hour and two hours, whatever, where all the sensitive site exploitation digitally occurs. So I moved on to my meeting."

He also said that he did not see any survivors during the second strike, and put the "onus back on Admiral Bradley," she added.

"I did not personally see survivors, but I stand... because the thing was on fire. It was exploded. Fire and smoke. You can't see anything, you've got digital... This is called the fog of war. This is what you in the press don't understand," Hegseth said, criticizing the reporters and press.

Collins said this new information could prompt more questions from Congress.

'Don't care what she said': Trump disses his own national intelligence director

President Donald Trump dismissed an assessment on Iran's nuclear capabilities made by his own director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, when asked about the situation on his way back to Washington from the G7 summit in Alberta, Canada.

Trump left the summit early on Monday, citing the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran that's raged for five days over Iran's development of nuclear weapons.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he was seeking "a real end" to the conflict, "not a ceasefire."

"So, something that will be permanent?" a reporter asked Trump.

"Yeah, or giving up entirely, that's okay, too," Trump answered. "A complete 'give up.' That's possible, yeah."

CNN's Kaitlan Collins asked Trump about DNI Gabbard's testimony in March about the imminence of an Iranian nuclear threat.

"You've always said that you don't believe Iran should be able to have a nuclear weapon, but how close do you personally think that they were to getting one?" Collins asked.

Trump answered, "Very close."

"Because Tulsi Gabbard testified in March that the intelligence community said Iran wasn't building a nuclear weapon," Collins continued.

"I don't care what she said," Trump snapped. "I think they were very close to having one."

CNN's Zachary Cohen noted Trump '"appearing to dismiss the testimony from his own top intelligence chief."

Cohen continued, "A senior U.S. official, also telling me that Iran is, quote, 'As close as you can get before building a nuclear weapon.' Saying further, 'They have all the things you need in order to do so.'"

Cohen said the timeline was important in determining the potential for U.S. involvement in the conflict, saying, "It seems Donald Trump has made up his mind, though."

Cohen said it remains to be seen what steps Trump would take to prevent Iran from fully developing nuclear capabilities.

"Yeah, ultimately, that's what's important here, probably in terms of U.S. action," said anchor John Berman. "What Donald Trump thinks the truth is."

Watch the clip below via CNN.

'Extremely odd': Experts question revealing runway video of ousted Trump aide Mike Waltz

CNN's Kaitlan Collins played video Thursday that may have helped predict National Security Adviser Mike Waltz's downfall from the Trump administration.

It was recorded earlier this week, showing Waltz arriving at Andrews Air Force Base via Marine One, then moving to the side of the plane as Trump adviser Stephen Miller is seen bounding up the stairs to Air Force One.

"There was a moment that CNN saw on Tuesday when the president was going to Michigan on his 100 days in office, and Mike Waltz, we noticed, traveled on Marine One with him. But 10 minutes later, you see it. Joint Base Andrews, that's his figure. He does not get on Air Force One. It's only about a 10-minute flight, so it's extremely odd to to take the helicopter flight and then not actually go on the trip."

Also read: 'Never so scared': Furious pastor berates cops after witnessing tasing of MTG constituent

Collins said she was told that Waltz wasn't supposed to fly to Michigan, but she was skeptical because she learned that Waltz "was told...earlier this week that his time as the National Security adviser had come to an end, and it was time for him to leave. And now we are told that he will be departing and so will his top deputy."

CNN's Jeff Zeleny remarked, "That video is so fascinating — what it doesn't show — the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is on the plane and he flew to Michigan with the president. And, I'm told, the president throughout the day embraced the Defense secretary. Yesterday at the Cabinet meeting, it was so clear he — so when you sort of step back at this, why Waltz and not Hegseth? Because, as Kaitlan says, he invited Jeffrey Goldberg into the chat, and that was sort of seen as the original sin."

News broke Thursday that Waltz and his deputy would be leaving the White House. Although no reason was given, Waltz was pegged for setting up the Signal app chat that inadvertently included a journalist along with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to discuss airstrikes on Yemen.

Watch the CNN clip below or click here.

Jeff Bezos reamed out by Trump in call minutes before Amazon debunked tariff report: CNN

CNN's Alayna Treene reported Tuesday that President Donald Trump called Amazon founder Jeff Bezos purportedly to chew him out over reports that the company planned to reveal price increases due to the administration's imposed tariffs on its website.

"Trump called Amazon founder Jeff Bezos Tuesday morning to complain about reports that his company was considering displaying the cost U.S. tariffs next to prices for certain products on its website, two senior White House officials told @CNN."

In subsequent posts, Treene wrote, "The call came shortly after one of the senior officials phoned the president to inform him of the story The controversy comes as Trump & Bezos have grown increasingly close in recent months. Bezos often visits the West Wing when in Washington to meet with the president."

Treene continued, "Soon after the call between Trump & Bezos, an Amazon spokesman released a statement clarifying the move wasn't considered for the main Amazon site but was considered for Amazon Haul The spox later sent CNN a revised stmt, adding: 'This was never approved and not going to happen.'"

Also read: 'Never so scared': Furious pastor berates cops after witnessing tasing of MTG constituent

The situation began with reporting from Punchbowl News that was headlined, "Amazon to display tariff costs for consumers."

The White House responded in a Tuesday morning press briefing, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt calling Amazon's reported move as "a hostile and political act by Amazon."

CNN's Kaitlan Collins called Leavitt's comments "remarkable" and an "incredibly aggressive response."

"If I had told you this was the response from the White House eight years ago, you might not have been as surprised," Collins continued. "That was when the president was openly feuding with Jeff Bezos, was highly critical of The Washington Post and its coverage of him. But Jeff Bezos came to the president's inauguration. He was seated there among him. He has had dinner with him. He's been here at the White House since then. And, so, it is remarkable to to hear what the White House's response to that was."

The Washington Post's Jeff Stein then broke the news on X that "Amazon Spox now saying this was never under consideration for the main Amazon website. Says Amazon Haul has considered listing import price duties on certain products."

Bezos hasn't yet publicly commented on the controversy.

'Remarkable': CNN's Kaitlan Collins left in awe by 'aggressive' White House swipe

The White House's response to retail giant Amazon's plans to display price increases caused by President Donald Trump's tariffs drew robust commentary from CNN analysts Tuesday.

In a morning press briefing, press secretary Karoline Leavitt called Amazon's move "a hostile and political act by Amazon."

"It was remarkable that Karoline Leavitt said she had just gotten off the phone with President Trump...and it was an incredibly aggressive response," CNN's Kaitlan Collins began. "The White House saying they believe that that is a hostile move by Amazon to do that and to list those prices and reflect basically what the impact of the president's tariffs are going to be."

Collins said that Trump's response was "all the more notable" because of his relationship with Jeff Bezos, owner of Amazon and The Washington Post.

Also read: 'Never so scared': Furious pastor berates cops after witnessing tasing of MTG constituent

Global economic analyst Rana Foroohar told CNN that the "powerful" transparency being offered by Amazon is "an amazing use of the incredible amounts of big data that these companies have."

She continued by agreeing that it was a "very political" move on Amazon's part.

"The White House "called it a hostile and political act, which did sound very threatening in terms of what the president was channeling to Jeff Bezos there," Foroohar said.

"I think it's also very interesting in terms of where big tech and where some of the largest and most powerful CEOs in the country stand in relation to Trump, and I was wondering when this penny was going to drop. Because, yes, you saw, as Kaitlan said, them all sitting in the front row at the inauguration, it was the sort of parade of American oligarchs. On the other hand, boy, have their businesses been hit by liberation day.

Watch the clip below via CNN.