Following President Trump’s personal attacks against her during the 2026 White House Correspondents’ Dinner, CNN’s Kaitlin Collins shares her thoughts on the situation.
Videos by Suggest
The world leader targeted Collins during his speech after she received an award for her coverage of his conflict with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February 2025.
“I want to personally congratulate CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on receiving her award,” he told the event’s attendees. “It was all about me. It’s a fake — she shouldn’t receive the award; it was a fake. But I didn’t mind; I said, ‘Kaitlan, congratulations.’ But it was fake; there’s no question about it.”
He then continued to hurl insults at the CNN reporter, commenting that he doesn’t see her smiling very often.
“She’s a young, attractive woman. She never smiles. I said, ‘Kaitlan, do you ever smile? Smile,'” Trump told her. “You have a nice position; you’re at CNN fake news; you should be a happy person. So smile, Kaitlan, just smile.”
He then compared Collins to transgender actress Dylan Mulvaney in her Bud Light ad campaign in 2023. The campaign caused a stir among the president’s supporters, including his longtime ally Kid Rock, who publicly boycotted the beverage brand and its parent company, Anheuser-Busch.
“I thought Kaitlan had really made it big with a major new sponsorship,” Trump continued. “But then I informed her that it wasn’t her on the Bud Light can, it was Dylan Mulvaney.”
He then said, “Dylan Mulvaney cost Bud Light $35 billion in market cap. That was the worst commercial ever made, by the way, for those few people who want to hear that. Most people don’t care, but I would. I wouldn’t want to hire Dylan any time soon.”
Collins Mentions the President’s Comments During Her ‘Daily Show’ Appearance
Days after President Trump’s rant about her, Collins shared her thoughts about the world leader’s remarks during her appearance on The Daily Show.
“In the room, I think I was not surprised when he insulted me,” she explained. “That happens pretty regularly inside the Oval Office. This was just a bigger venue where it was happening.”
However, there was one moment that actually surprised her. “What was most surprising to me was the room was filled with a lot of his staffers, his Cabinet, his allies, Republicans in Congress. It was so quiet in the room during the president’s remarks.”
The Daily Show host Jon Stewart responded to her observation by jokingly stating, “Because of how much they respect him.”
Collins replied, “Who’s to say?”
Continuing to speak about the situation, Collins noted, “Regardless of who’s the president, whether it’s Joe Biden or Donald Trump — those are the two I’ve covered — it’s really not about me.”
“I don’t want it to be about my reaction,” she added. “I think if you let it become about that, then it becomes a back and forth between the two of us.”