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Kaitlan Collins Isn’t Surprised Trump Insulted Her at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins has responded to a barrage of insults from President Trump during his first speech as president at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, saying his behaviour did not surprise her because similar personal attacks are now routine in the Oval Office. Trump has increasingly singled out Collins as a target, and at Friday night's rescheduled dinner he mocked her appearance, told her to "just smile" and made a laboured comparison between her and transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, a joke that reportedly fell flat with the audience.
Speaking to Jon Stewart on The Daily Show, Collins said she was unfazed by the insults themselves but was struck by how silent the room was during Trump's remarks, despite it being filled with his staff, Cabinet members and Republican allies. She also explained that her approach to questioning Trump, who often deflects her queries at briefings, is designed to appeal broadly rather than to any one political audience. The dinner, held at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C., had been pared down and rescheduled after a gunman attempted to enter the April event and allegedly tried to shoot Trump. Over the weekend, Trump extended the joke by posting an AI-generated image on Truth Social superimposing Collins's face onto Mulvaney's body from a Budweiser advert.
In short
- Trump mocked Kaitlan Collins at the White House Correspondents' dinner
- Collins says such insults are now normal in the Oval Office
- Trump later posted an AI-altered image of Collins on Truth Social
Explained simply
Kaitlan Collins is a prominent CNN anchor who regularly interviews senior government figures at the White House. The White House Correspondents' Association dinner is an annual event where the sitting president traditionally addresses members of the press. The dinner has historically been a moment of relative civility between the presidency and the media.
Trump has maintained a highly contentious relationship with the press throughout his political career, regularly attacking journalists and news organisations he views as unfair. Collins has been a particular focus of these attacks over several years, with Trump singling her out for criticism. This year's dinner was rescheduled from April following a security incident at the venue.
The relationship between the Trump administration and the media remains a defining feature of his presidency, with individual journalists occasionally becoming the subject of public criticism. Collins's role as a television anchor means her interactions with the administration attract significant public attention.
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