Kaitlan Collins addresses Trump’s WHCD insults and tells viewers to focus on the president’s ‘non-answers’

Kaitlan Collins addresses Trump’s WHCD insults and tells viewers to focus on the president’s ‘non-answers’ Kaitlan Collins took the high road when she was quizzed about the White House Correspondents’ Dinner by host Jon Stewart - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments CNN’s Kaitlan Collins has responded to being on the receiving end of President Donald Trump’s insults at Friday’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where he again berated her for “never smiling.” In a preview clip from Monday night’s The Daily Show, Collins was asked about the dinner by host Jon Stewart, and the reporter took the high road. “I’ve always felt this, regardless of who's the president, whether it's Joe Biden, Donald Trump,” she began. “It's really not about me, and I don't want it to be about my reaction. And so I think if you let it become about that, then it becomes a back and forth between the two of us.” Collins explained that she felt it was “more effective” if viewers focus on the question she asked in moments when the president is insulting her or when he gets “angry.” “I just think in those moments, it's important to put the reminder back on the work, on the question, and on the non-answers that we get,” she said. The 80-year-old president went after Collins during his speech, where he congratulated her for winning the 2026 WHCA award for broadcast for her coverage of his contentious meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in February 2025. Trump told the room that Collins “shouldn’t get the award. It was a fake, but I didn’t mind.” “The fact that I got an award for it really bothered him clearly,” Collins quipped to Stewart. The president repeated his claims that Collins “never smiles” to the room full of journalists and administration officials. “I said, ‘Kaitlin, do you ever smile?’ Smile. You have a nice position. You’re at CNN fake news,” the president said. “You should be a happy person. So smile, Kaitlan. Just smile.” Collins said Monday that she was “not surprised” when Trump insulted her. “That happens pretty regularly inside the Oval Office. This is just a bigger venue where it was happening,” she said. “What was most surprising to me was the room was filled with a lot of his staffers, his cabinet, his allies, Republicans in Congress... it was so quiet in the room during the president's remarks.” Prominent journalists have called for an end to the annual dinner after Trump used the opportunity to savage Collins and the press during his speech. “Our mission is to defend the First Amendment rights of White House correspondents to report on the president without fear or favor,” New York Times White House correspondent Peter Baker wrote on X after the event. “Unfortunately last night did not advance that cause. Time to rethink the dinner.” Voices across the industry shared that sentiment, with media columnists branding the dinner an “embarrassment” and a bitterly ironic showcase for the Republican, given that “no president in the history of this country has devoted more energy and resources to trying to weaken the free press than President Donald Trump,” according to one columnist at the media institute Poynter. “Why did the association allow such a shameful thing to happen?” media columnist Margaret Sullivan wrote on her Substack. The White House accused journalists of being unable to take the criticism that they give the administration in an earlier statement about the controversy. “The liberal media can dish it but they can’t take it,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle told The Independent in a statement Monday. Josh Marcus contributed reporting Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments [Image text:] ODAILY SHOW