Kaitlan Collins isn’t backing down from a fight — not even if it involves the president of the United States.
In a recent interview published on June 9, the CNN anchor, who is 34 years old, discusses what she believes is really causing President Donald Trump’s anger.
“I think it’s because he doesn’t like my questions in the briefing room.
I don’t think it’s a personal attack,” she told McCreesh. “I do think that this term, people have started to notice the difference in his reaction when women like Mary Bruce or Nancy Cordes are doing the questioning.”
Collins pointed to an exchange in February in the Oval Office as a key example.
When she asked Trump about his connection to Jeffrey Epstein, he completely avoided the issue. “When I asked him about Epstein in the Oval Office, he said, ‘In the 10 years you’ve covered me, I’ve never seen you smile,’” she said. “He wasn’t even really listening to the question.”
“My job is to ask questions in the briefing room, and I’m not going to take it easy on anyone,” Collins said.
“That’s what press secretaries sign up for, taking tough questions.”
The conversation got more intense when they talked about how Trump responds to female reporters asking difficult questions.
“I do think Trump is an equal opportunity sniper in how he insults people online, but I also think people have really noticed the way he’s been answering women reporters,” noted McCreesh during the interview.
Collins acknowledged that Trump isn’t welcoming of tough questions from anyone, pointing to how he has treated colleagues like Jonathan Karl and Peter Alexander.
But she said something feels different when women are the ones asking the questions. Collins mentioned correspondent Catherine Lucey, whom Trump called “Miss Piggy” on Air Force One. “I was standing near Nancy Cordes at Mar-a-Lago on Thanksgiving when he turned on her and asked, ‘Are you a stupid person?’” shared McCreesh.
“All of them are excellent reporters,” Collins said.
“They don’t need our defense because they know they’re awesome.”
Collins also talked about how Trump has changed over nearly a decade of coverage.
“I think he’s still Trump,” she said, noting that his old interviews from the ’80s and ’90s show the same mannerisms and views. “But I think he’s so much more emboldened this time around.”
During a recent interview with Meet The Press, Trump walked out of an interview after Kristen Welker challenged his repeated false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and questioned him about financial compensation for those charged in connection with the January 6 Capitol insurrection.
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