CNN's Kaitlan Collins And Donald Trump Have Been Locked In A Bitter Feud

President-elect Donald Trump has had no shortage of verbal clashes with the press. He often speaks derogatorily about CNN, regularly calling the company "fake news," and he's had a very public rollercoaster relationship with former anchor Van Jones, as well as a long-lasting beef with CNN standby Anderson Cooper.

Among his many targets, one journalist that Donald Trump directs particular ire to is CNN's Kaitlan Collins. She began working at CNN covering presidential news in 2017 at only 25 years old, and Trump's feud with her began not too long after, with their first run-in occurring in 2018 during Trump's first term. It has carried over to the 2024 election, and it has expanded to Collins arguing with Trump's Vice President pick JD Vance as well. These are some highlights of their continuous conflict, and it doesn't look like the reporter and the president will be mending any fences soon.

During a somewhat innocuous photo op with Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at the White House in 2018, Collins was the pool reporter for the event, and asked Trump, "Did Michael Cohen betray you, Mr. President?" twice to no answer (via AP Archive). This was in reference to Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen paying Stormy Daniels hush money to stay silent regarding her sexual encounter with Trump in 2006. "Mr. President, are you worried about what Michael Cohen is about to say to the prosecutors? Are you worried about what is on the other tapes, Mr. President?" Collins added.

"Why is Vladimir Putin not accepting your invitation, Mr. President?" Collins asked after Trump didn't acknowledge her questions. Trump had invited Putin for a fall 2018 White House visit, but Putin hadn't accepted yet. The press were quickly shuffled out of the room without having received any answers from Trump.

Trump was seemingly not a fan of the questions Collins posed, and she was swiftly banned from that afternoon's Rose Garden event. "They said that the questions I asked were inappropriate for that venue. And they said I was shouting," Collins explained (via CNN). Video shows that Collins acted in a manner any other journalist would, and she told deputy chief of staff for communications Bill Shine and press secretary Sarah Sanders, "You're banning me from an event because you didn't like the questions I asked."

President-elect Trump's desire to construct a border wall between the United States and Mexico was a hot-button issue during his first term. Trump initially asserted that Mexico would pay for the construction of the wall, but much of the financial burden fell on American taxpayers.

During a press conference in January 2019, Kaitlan Collins pressed Trump for more information on this issue, and was met with a very demeaning response. "You ran your campaign promising supporters that Mexico is going to pay for the wall," Collins began. Trump immediately spoke over her with, "Here we go again," before she could continue asking her question (via CNN).

"Right now our government is shut down over a demand from your administration that the American taxpayer pay for the wall. How can you say you're not failing on that promise to your supporters?" Collins asked Trump. "A very nice question so beautifully asked, even though I just answered it," an annoyed and sarcastic Trump responded. They verbally sparred for a moment before Trump spoke about a trade deal and what material would be used for the wall. "I know you're not into the construction business. You don't understand something," he said to Collins, and then spoke of the steel industry in the U.S. and the merits of building the wall out of steel.

During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, misinformation about the virus spread. In a July 2020 press conference, Kaitlan Collins tried to ask President Trump about a video he shared on Twitter. The video, published by far-right media outlet Breitbart, shows Dr. Stella Immanuel saying, "This virus has a cure, it's called hydroxychloroquine, zinc, and Zithromax. You don't need masks, there is a cure" (via CBS News). The video was quickly taken down from social media sites.

Collins attempted to confront Trump over his endorsement of this video and hydroxychloroquine, which he claimed was a cure for COVID-19. "The woman that you said is a 'great doctor' in that video that you retweeted last night said that masks don't work and there's a cure for COVID-19, both of which experts say is not true. She's also made videos saying that doctors make medicine using DNA from aliens and that they're trying to create a vaccine to make you immune from becoming religious. So, what's the logic in retweeting that?" (via CNN).

Trump skirted the question, saying, "She was on air with many other doctors. And they were big fans of hydroxychloroquine. And I thought she was very impressive in the sense that where she came — I don't know which country she comes from — but she's said that she's had tremendous success with hundreds of different patients." He then walked out of the press conference, cutting it short.

President-elect Trump agreed to a primetime town hall with CNN in May 2023 during his burgeoning campaign to get reelected. Kaitlan Collins moderated the event where Trump answered questions from New Hampshire voters. Collins attempted to fact-check Trump throughout the night by interjecting, but her comments were interrupted by Trump or the crowd, which laughed at or applauded many of Trump's remarks.

During one notably intense exchange, where their body language spoke as loudly as they did, Collins was attempting to engage Trump on the difference between his and President Joe Biden's response to being subpoenaed regarding classified documents. "Are you ready? Can I talk? Do you mind?" Trump, frustrated, said. Collins urged him to answer, saying, "I would like for you to answer the question. That's why I asked it."

"It's very simple that you're a nasty person, I'll tell you," Trump said in response, insulting Collins to her face while the crowd cheered.

Kaitlan Collins' feud with president-elect Trump isn't restricted to Trump himself; Collins has also debated vice president-elect JD Vance. 

During a May 2024 interview on her show "The Source with Kaitlan Collins," the CNN reporter pressed Vance, who's had his fair share of embarrassing moments on the network, about discrepancies between treatment of pro-Palestine protesters and the insurrectionists during the January 6, 2021 attack. "You can't police people for being pro-Israel or anti-Israel, but you can police people for violating the law," Vance said, arguing in favor of arresting protesters on college campuses. Collins countered that Vance helped raise money for the January 6 insurrectionists and questioned him on this double standard, while Vance argued that those charged with misdemeanors should be pardoned.

Collins also interviewed Vance after the September 2024 presidential debate between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. She pressed him on the baseless claims that Haitian immigrants were eating people's pets in Springfield, Ohio, and Vance doubled down on his rhetoric, saying, "both firsthand and secondhand reports saying this stuff is happening" (via CNN). Collins countered Vance's proliferation of unsubstantiated rumors by saying, "Senator, you've talked about how your office has gotten lots of reports. If someone calls your office and says they saw Bigfoot, that doesn't mean they saw Bigfoot. You have a sense of responsibility as a running mate — and [Trump] certainly does as a candidate — to not promote false information."