Kaitlan Collins Slams Trump’s Insults at WHCA Dinner: “It Really Bothered Him”

CNN’s Kaitlan Collins faced off against President Donald Trump’s insults at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where he mocked her for “never smiling.”

In a preview clip from The Daily Show, host Jon Stewart questioned Collins about the dinner, and she took the high road, refusing to make it personal.

“I’ve always felt this, regardless of who's the president, whether it's Joe Biden, Donald Trump,” she stated. “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 emphasized that it’s “more effective” for viewers to focus on her questions during moments of insult or anger from the president.

“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 added.

During his speech, Trump targeted Collins again, congratulating her for winning the 2026 WHCA award for her coverage of his contentious meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in February 2025.

Trump dismissed her award as “fake,” saying, “She shouldn’t get the award. It was a fake, but I didn’t mind.”

Collins quipped to Stewart, “The fact that I got an award for it really bothered him clearly.”

Trump reiterated his claim that Collins “never smiles” in front of a 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,” he remarked. “You should be a happy person. So smile, Kaitlan. Just smile.”

Collins expressed that she was “not surprised” by Trump’s insults.

“That happens pretty regularly inside the Oval Office. This is just a bigger venue where it was happening,” she explained. “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 platform to attack Collins and the press.

New York Times White House correspondent Peter Baker stated on X, “Our mission is to defend the First Amendment rights of White House correspondents to report on the president without fear or favor. Unfortunately last night did not advance that cause. Time to rethink the dinner.”

Media columnists echoed this sentiment, labeling the dinner an “embarrassment” and highlighting Trump’s relentless efforts to undermine the free press.

“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,” one columnist from Poynter noted.

Margaret Sullivan questioned on her Substack, “Why did the association allow such a shameful thing to happen?”

The White House responded by accusing journalists of being unable to handle criticism directed at them.

“The liberal media can dish it but they can’t take it,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle stated in a Monday comment.