Trump Revives Feud With CNN

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President Trump called a CNN reporter “very dumb and unhappy” in a new public blast, continuing a fight with Kaitlan Collins that has stretched across his second term.

Story Snapshot

Trump attacked CNN correspondent Kaitlan Collins on Truth Social, calling her “stupid and nasty” after she asked about his ballroom renovation plans.
Collins pushed back, noting her question was “technically” about Venezuela, not the construction project.
At the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Trump mocked Collins’ award and said “she never smiles.”
The clash fits a years-long pattern of Trump publicly targeting Collins over her reporting and demeanor.

The Latest Truth Social Attack

President Trump used Truth Social over the weekend to call Kaitlan Collins “stupid and nasty” after she pressed him on his plans for a new White House ballroom. He accused the CNN correspondent of “fake news” reporting during the exchange, keeping up a fight that has followed her through much of his second term in office.

Collins answered publicly, saying her question was “technically” about Venezuela rather than the construction project Trump referenced in his post. Her reply directly challenged how Trump described the exchange, giving both sides of the story a clear, on-record account of what was actually asked.

Social media users quickly picked up the fight, with one widely shared post repeating Trump’s line calling Collins a “very dumb and unhappy Fake News CNN ‘reporter.'” The phrase spread fast online, turning a single post into another viral flashpoint in the long-running feud between Trump and the CNN anchor.

A Public Rebuke at the Correspondents’ Dinner

Trump’s criticism of Collins did not start with the Truth Social post. At the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, he mocked her for receiving the association’s award for excellence in presidential news coverage under deadline pressure, calling the honor “fake” and saying “she shouldn’t get the award”.

During that same dinner speech, Trump told the crowd Collins “never smiles,” a personal jab aimed at her appearance rather than her reporting. The comment came as Collins was being formally recognized by the White House Correspondents’ Association for her work covering the administration.

A Pattern Years in the Making

The insults are not new. Trump has repeatedly criticized Collins in the Oval Office and during press briefings, once telling her she was “the worst reporter” and accusing CNN of “false reporting” after she asked about documents tied to Jeffrey Epstein. Each exchange has followed a similar script: a pointed question, a personal insult, and a public response from Collins defending her work.

🚨 NOW: President Trump just absolutely obliterated Kaitlan Collins

"Very dumb and unhappy Fake News CNN “reporter,” Kaitlan Collins (really low ratings, also!), had a panel where discussions were all FICTION AND LIES. You would think that CNN, which is suffering terribly in the…

— American Patriot🇺🇸 (@AmericanPa8e) September 9, 2026

Collins has largely stayed focused on her job rather than trading insults back. She has said such attacks are unsurprising after years of covering Trump and has argued that reporters should keep asking questions that hold officials accountable instead of engaging in personal disputes. That approach has kept her in the spotlight even as the president’s comments about her have grown more personal, from her reporting to her facial expressions.

The repeated targeting of one reporter raises a broader question that applies well beyond this single feud: whether attacks on individual journalists shift public attention away from the substance of their questions. Collins’ questions on subjects like Venezuela and Epstein-related documents remain part of the public record, regardless of how the president has chosen to respond to her in public.