Kaitlan Collins has spoken about her tense interaction with Donald Trump at the White House. When Collins asked Trump a question about the Epstein Files, the President of the United States saw it fit to tell the star that he had never seen her smile.
BREAKING: Trump SHAMES CNN reporter Kaitlin Collins for not smiling when she asks him questions. He only talks to women this way.
pic.twitter.com/O9XNBNODNT
— Trump Lie Tracker (Commentary Account) (@MAGALieTracker) February 3, 2026
The star was on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, whose host had declared ‘all gloves are off’ when Paramount cancelled his show. The cancellation has largely been seen as a way to receive approval from the current government for deals that need to be approved by them.
While Collins was asking about Epstein, the President interrupted her, saying, “You are so bad. You know, you are the worst reporter. No wonder. CNN has no ratings because of people like you. She’s a young woman. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile. I’ve known you for 10 years. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smile on your face.”
Collins spoke about being the White House correspondent for CNN, a position she took up following Trump’s second victory in the 2024 Presidential election. She has also been hosting CNN’s The Source.
Stephen Colbert asked her about the exchange on his talk show. To that, she said, “I don’t think it’s a controversial opinion that you shouldn’t smile when you’re asking questions about a s– trafficker and sexual assault victims.”
Stephen Colbert himself has never missed an opportunity to criticize Trump, so he was sympathetic to Collins’s predicament. Colbert also talked about the President’s tactics of using the FCC to silence journalists and publications that, according to him, spread misinformation about him. Collins had some things to say on that matter as well. She replied, “We didn’t see him do it as much in the first term. It’s a way that he’s wielding his power so differently in the second term.”
Kaitlan Collins reminds Donald Trump that he agreed to abide by Supreme Court decisions just a few days and he flies off the handle, berating her and her news organization. This pathetic little bully needs to be impeached and fired ASAP. pic.twitter.com/IctJZ8bb6Q
— Piyush Mittal 🇺🇸🇺🇦🟧🌊🌈 (@piyushmittal) April 14, 2025
Trump has gone after journalists and publications that don’t seem to align with his narrative. Not just that, even talk shows, like that of Stephen Colbert, have not been without jibes from the President himself. There are critics who have called this type of behaviour a blatant abuse of power.
His supporters, however, have come out and said that it is a crackdown on false narratives and misinformation. Trump and his entourage have also stopped taking personal jibes at journalists and media personnel, and routinely fail to answer questions that relate to controversies that the President and the administration have been embroiled in.
