Kaitlan Collins recently described an unexpectedly positive interaction with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt early in President Donald Trump’s second term.
Speaking on Heather McMahan’s Absolutely Not podcast, the CNN chief White House correspondent said Leavitt came to her defense during a trip to Saudi Arabia in May 2025. Collins recalled shouting a question to the president while he stood with other leaders, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“They famously do not like the media there,” Collins told McMahan. “To put it lightly.”
Collins said the president didn’t respond. Afterward, she alleged members of the Saudi Royal Guard confronted her for asking the question and then tried to bar her from the next event.
“They came up and they said, ‘OK, well you can’t come into the next event,’ which was like two minutes later,” Collins recalled. “And I was like, ‘That’s not how this works. I go into the U.S. press,’ and they were like, ‘Well, you’re not coming in.’”
She said White House staff were unsure how to resolve the standoff and ultimately turned to Leavitt.
“To her credit, she said, ‘No, Kaitlan’s coming in with the rest of the U.S. press,’ and we went in,” Collins said. “And so it didn’t become this huge issue.”
Collins added that the response mattered, particularly during an overseas trip where the U.S. press corps operates under different norms than the host country.
Leavitt’s support in that moment, Collins noted, has contrasted with the tense dynamic she has faced with the administration back in Washington. Collins has repeatedly drawn sharp responses after asking questions the White House viewed as unfavorable.
At a televised town hall in 2023, Trump criticized Collins while she questioned him about the federal investigation into his handling of classified documents. She has also been singled out in public remarks and online posts, including after questions about a controversial White House ballroom renovation.
More recently, Collins described a Feb. 3 exchange in which Trump mocked her demeanor and attacked her outlet while she attempted to ask about survivors connected to Jeffrey Epstein.
“Well I’m asking you about survivors,” Collins said, according to her recollection of the moment.
Trump responded by accusing her and the network of dishonesty and repeatedly interrupted as she tried to finish her question.
