President Donald Trump has a long history of clashing with reporters, including the CNN journalist Kaitlan Collins. He has openly criticized the reporter and even called her “stupid and nasty” on Truth Social.
Due to his repeated clashes, people on Trump’s team, including the White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt have butted heads with Collins on multiple occasions. However, when the time came, Leavitt showed unexpected grace towards the CNN reporter.
Appearing on the Absolutely Not podcast hosted by comedian Heather McMahan, Kaitlan Collins opened up about an unexpected moment during an overseas trip to Saudi Arabia, where she found a surprising ally in Leavitt.
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
“When we were in Saudi Arabia and we were on a foreign trip with the President, he came in with all the other leaders including the Saudi crown prince. They famously do not like the media there.”
Explaining how the media isn’t always welcomed warmly in Saudi Arabia, Collins revealed getting some pushback during her overseas trip. It all started after she asked Trump a question. Even though he didn’t respond, Collins’ decision to speak up caught the attention of the Saudi royal guards.
“I asked a question to President Trump who had seen me when the US press came in. He didn’t answer, which is, I mean, that’s how it works.” Collins shared. “The Saudi royal guard kind of freaked out because I dared to ask a question and they’re not used to that there because they don’t have a free press,” she added.
The CNN reporter further went on to discuss how the situation was starting to look dire, as the royal guard was planning to stop her from attending the next U.S. press event during the trip. But that’s when Leavitt stood by Collins’ side.
Collins explained, “So they came up and they said, ‘Okay, well you can’t come into the next event.’ Which was like two minutes later. And I was like, ‘That’s not how this works. I go into the US press.’ And they were like, ‘Well, you’re not coming in.’”
The reporter then added, “So they went to Karoline, and to her credit she said ‘no Kaitlan’s coming in with the rest of the US press’ and we went in and so it didn’t become this huge issue because.”
For netizens who follow White House briefings, this moment felt unexpected, as Collins and Leavitt have clashed several times during press conferences.
Their exchanges have sometimes been tense, while discussing inflation and Trump’s controversial decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.”
“No, Kaitlan’s coming in.”
That is the Sibling Rule.
I can bully my sister, but if you touch her, we have a problem.
Leavitt effectively told the Saudis: “She might be ‘Fake News,’ but she is Our Fake News.” It is American arrogance in the best possible way. 📉🦅
— ANAS KHAN (@ANASKHA96399553) February 12, 2026
Therefore, taking to X, one user joked that seeing Leavitt and Collins on the same side was a “2026 plot twist no one saw coming.” Further, another user added that “[This] is how America is supposed to work”, where defending free speech matters, even if you disagree with the journalist.
Despite this brief moment of support, it is unclear whether it will change the dynamic between them, especially since Karoline Leavitt has been a strong defender of Donald Trump, who has otherwise been criticized by Kaitlan Collins.
