CNN’s chief White House correspondent, Kaitlan Collins, was nearly sidelined in Riyadh. But guess who stepped in to help her? It was the Donald Trump administration’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt.
Collins was recently on Heather McMahan’s Absolutely Not podcast. There, she recounted how she was blocked by Saudi authorities during a presidential trip but was let in after Karoline Leavitt intervened. This episode unfolded during Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia, according to the 33-year-old journalist who often clashes with the president and his team.
As is standard practice in White House coverage, Collins shouted a question to which Trump didn’t respond. “That’s how it works,” she said. But in a country where press freedoms are very restricted, the Saudi Royal Guard “kind of freaked out” when she dared to shout at the president. “They’re not used to that there because they don’t have a free press,” she explained.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Says Karoline Leavitt Defended Her Free Press Rights
“The Saudi Royal Guard freaked out because I dared to ask a question … and said, you can’t come into the next event … Karoline, to her credit said, no Kaitlan’s coming in with the rest of the U.S.… pic.twitter.com/uhB9al4GVX
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) February 12, 2026
Then, as the press moved to the next event, Saudi authorities allegedly tried to block the journalist from entering. She says that she at first saw officials whispering and pointing at her before being told she wouldn’t be allowed inside. Younger White House staffers were unsure how to handle the situation abroad. That’s when Leavitt stepped in.
“To her credit,” Collins said, the press secretary noted that Collins was “coming in with the rest of the U.S. press.”
As the administration that often sparred with CNN defended Collins, she believed it was a matter of principle. When the U.S. press corps travels abroad, it operates under American norms of access, even in countries where the press operates differently.
The relationship between Collins and Leavitt has been anything but warm, other than this one time, though. Collins has sparred repeatedly in public with Trump. Just days ago, in an Oval Office exchange reported by The New York Times, Trump scolded her for “not smiling” and called her “the worst reporter.” He had also labeled her “stupid and nasty” on social media.
CNN always defends Collins as an “exceptional journalist” who reports with tenacity.
Thorn in Trump’s side. CNN names Kaitlan Collins Chief White House Correspondent for the Trump presidency, in addition to anchoring her prime time show. Trump has infamously called Collins “a nasty person”. pic.twitter.com/VwcwUxdcpK
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) November 26, 2024
Meanwhile, in December, Leavitt accused the press corps of scrutinizing Trump’s record more harshly than his predecessors’. When the journalist spoke about her affordability concerns and inflation, Leavitt snapped at reporters who “just don’t want to report” what she claims are improving economic metrics. And yet, in Riyadh, this dynamic shifted for a second.
