President Donald Trump on Wednesday lashed out at CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and the legacy media over their biased coverage of his administration.
“All of the SLEAZEBAGS, like Third Rate “Reporter,” Kaitlan Collins, of Fake News CNN, a truly unhappy person, said they weren’t going to be covering me,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “Then why were they ranting and raving like Lunatics, in the Press Area, at the United Nations? Why was she there? She’s got a “TRUMP” addiction, and so does CNN and MSDNC. They’re all sick, treasonous, and demented! The “good news” is that they have a great, for them, and totally disloyal Judge.”
The president was referring to the media’s reaction to his decision to ban CNN, Politico, and MS NOW from attending White House press briefings. The news outlets filed a lawsuit challenging the ban on Monday and other organizations have refused to cover the White House in solidarity with those facing the ban.
Trump and Collins have clashed for years. In 2018, during his first term in office, Trump barred Collins from a Rose Garden event after she pressed the president on the Russiagate hoax and his former attorney Michael Cohen.
President Trump is now invoking national security in respect to his press ban, which he didn't do Friday, Saturday or Sunday. How is reporting on the president a national security threat?
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) September 22, 2026
UN Amb. Mike Waltz: "When we have outlets that are relying on anonymous sources and… pic.twitter.com/EbTJu2XZQh
They locked horns during a 2023 CNN town hall where Trump called her “a nasty person.” Since returning to office, the president referred to her as “stupid and nasty,” “the worst reporter,” and a “corrupt reporter” who “never smiles” and stands with “hatred in her eyes.”
At the 2026 White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Trump mocked an award she received and compared her to influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
“It’s all been a victory,” Trump says of his presidency while lamenting a lack of positive coverage when asked why he says he’s banning several outlets, including CNN, from the White House.
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) September 18, 2026
When Collins approached Trump on Tuesday outside the United Nations General Assembly and asked about the Iran war, he replied, “I’m surprised that CNN is here covering me. You shouldn’t be here!” and “You should not be here covering me. You said you weren’t going to cover me.”
Collins answered, “The United Nations allowed us in, sir,” and later said on air that “CNN never said we were not going to cover the president.”
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