Donald Trump has been criticized recently for repeatedly going after members of the press, and one of his targets has now sharply responded. Not long ago, the president drew backlash for calling a reporter “quiet, piggy” when questioned about the Epstein files. Over the weekend, a new dispute erupted after he took aim at another female journalist, triggering fresh outrage online.
This time, Trump focused on CNN chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins in a post on his preferred platform, Truth Social. Collins, however, answered with a pointed six-word reply of her own. The clash began after the Republican leader blasted her over what he claimed was a question about his $300 million White House ballroom project.
In his post, the 79-year-old wrote, “Caitlin Collin’s of Fake News CNN, always Stupid and Nasty, asked me why the new Ballroom was costing more money than originally thought one year ago.” He also labeled the network “one of the worst in the business.”
What many noticed first, though, was that he misspelled Collins’ name, whether on purpose or not.
In the same message, Trump insisted that his expansion plans were “actually under budget and ahead of schedule, as my jobs always are.” He claimed the ballroom is “just much bigger and more beautiful than originally planned” and said it is being paid for “fully…by private donations.”
Kaitlan Collins didn’t let it slide. She pushed back, saying Trump hadn’t even addressed what she had asked. “Technically, my question was about Venezuela,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Her question had focused on rising tensions between the United States and Venezuela after the Trump administration ordered controversial airstrikes in the Caribbean and Pacific against alleged drug-trafficking vessels. Since the strikes began, lives have been lost and concerns have grown as the U.S. signaled that more action could follow.
Collins asked, “Mr. President, what would you say to people who say that prize might conflict with your pledge to strike Venezuela?” Trump replied, “We’ve 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.”
He went on to say, “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.”
