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- Kaitlan Collins responded to Donald Trump’s rant calling her “stupid and nasty” with a six-word reply
- In his rant, Trump claimed the journalist inquired about his White House ballroom renovation, while Collins said she had actually asked about Venezuela
- The president also misspelled the CNN White House correspondent’s name in what marked the latest of his attacks on female journalists
Kaitlan Collins has responded to President Donald Trump’s rant, in which he called her “stupid and nasty” and misspelled her name.
On Saturday, Dec. 6, the 33-year-old journalist, who is CNN’s Chief White House Correspondent and host of The Source with Kaitlan Collins, became the latest target in the president’s string of attacks on female reporters.
In a lengthy rant shared on Truth Social, Trump, 79, described Collins as “stupid and nasty” and spelled her name incorrectly, seemingly for inquiring about his controversial White House ballroom renovation.
Collins responded later that day on her Instagram Stories by reposting Trump’s rant with a short comment.
“Technically, my question was about Venezuela,” wrote Collins, referring to the growing tension between the country and the U.S. — including the Trump administration’s bombing of alleged drug vessels off the coast and Trump’s threats of escalation and calls for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to step down.
Though it is unclear from Trump’s rant what specific interaction he was referring to, Collins appeared to be referencing an inquiry she posed to Trump on Friday, Dec. 5.
The journalist asked Trump about his threats against Venezuela as he helped kick off the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Washington, D.C., where he received a first-ever peace prize from the organization.
Collins posed the question before Trump received the new honor. “Mr. President, what would you say to people who say that prize might conflict with your pledge to strike Venezuela?” she asked, as seen in footage shared by FOX 5 Washington, D.C.
In response, Trump restated his long-repeated claim that he has ended “eight wars and we have a ninth coming … which nobody’s ever done before.”
“But I want to really save lives. I don’t need prizes. I need to save lives. And we’re saving a lot of lives. I’ve saved millions and millions of lives. And that’s really what I want to do,” continued the president. “And I also want to run a great country. And the United States right now is the hottest country anywhere in the world. And one year ago, it was dead. We had a dead country. And now we have the hottest country anywhere in the world.”
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In Trump’s Truth Social rant targeting Collins, he focused largely on his multi-million dollar ballroom renovation, which was first announced in July.
Stating that the rework to the area “is actually under budget and ahead of schedule, as my jobs always are,” Trump added, “It’s just much bigger and more beautiful than originally planned.”
The White House demolished the East Wing in October to make way for the project, which has drawn criticism from some lawmakers who have raised questions about oversight and historic protections.
Initially estimated at $200 million, the project is now expected to cost about $300 million, per Trump, who said in October that the entire amount is being paid by donors, including himself.
Trump’s post targeting Collins is the latest in a string of attacks on female journalists. Recently, he similarly called another White House correspondent, CBS News’ Nancy Cordes, “a stupid person” on Thanksgiving.
The day before, Trump called The New York Times‘ Katie Rogers “ugly, both inside and out,” and two weeks earlier, pointed at Bloomberg’s Catherine Lucey and angrily told her “Quiet. Quiet, piggy.”
Collins jumped to her fellow White House correspondent’s defense at the time on X, stating that Lucey does “a great job.”
