US President Donald Trump criticised a CNN correspondent for not smiling after she pressed him about the Epstein files during a press conference in the Oval Office on Tuesday. Trump called her the “worst reporter” and labelled CNN a “dishonest organisation.”
Kaitlan Collins questioned Trump about the US Justice Department’s decision to redact key information and said survivors of Epstein were unhappy with the approach. She asked what he would say to survivors who feel they have not received justice.
In response, Trump told her: “I’ve known you for ten years. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smile on your face. You know why you’re not smiling? Because you know you’re not telling the truth. You’re a very dishonest organisation – and they should be ashamed of you.”
He then added, “I think it’s really time for the country to get on to something else, now that nothing came out about me”.
As reporters were ushered out of the Oval Office, Trump was heard continuing to complain that Collins “never smiles,” gesturing toward the press.
Trump has also singled out Collins in the past, writing on Truth Social: “Caitlin Collin’s of Fake News CNN, always Stupid and Nasty.”
The Oval Office exchange is the latest in a series of confrontations Trump has had with journalists. Last year, he silenced a reporter by saying, “Quiet! Quiet, piggy.”
In November last year, Trump cut off another reporter while taking questions at his Florida estate about the vetting of Afghans in the United States, snapping: “Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person?”
He has also attacked a New York Times report that focused on his age and visible fatigue, calling the woman who wrote the article “ugly.”
Collins is an American journalist and anchor. She previously worked as an entertainment reporter before becoming a White House correspondent for The Daily Caller in 2016. She joined CNN a year later and later moved into anchoring roles.
CNN has described Collins as “an exceptional journalist” who reports “with real depth and tenacity”.
