Donald Trump has again lashed out at CNN and its chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins, berating her for not smiling during a press availability in the Oval Office. The former president called CNN 'a very corrupt organization' and referred to Collins as 'a corrupt reporter standing right there, never smiles.'
Trump said: 'A young beautiful woman, never smiles. I never see a smile off her face. I see her standing there with hatred in her eyes, like she has hatred, because we had borders, because we have a strong military, because we cut our taxes, because we do things that everybody wanted, and then we win our election in a massive landslide.'
Later, after Collins asked whether the Justice Department's $1.8 billion weaponization fund was dead or on hold, Trump called the fund a 'beautiful thing' and told Collins: 'People like you have abused our people so badly. The fake news, like CNN, like The New York Times, and like others, have abused our people, have abused our people so badly. And you should be ashamed of yourself. You used to be a conservative. She was a conservative from Alabama, can you believe it? But CNN in particular does such false reporting, but now they have new ownership, so maybe it’ll straighten out, but I doubt it.'
Trump was referring to Paramount's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, which has yet to close pending regulatory approval. CNN anchor Kasie Hunt later noted that Collins 'did mention that she is still from Alabama, though the president seemed to suggest that she no longer was.' A CNN spokesperson defended Collins, calling her 'an exceptional journalist' with 'real depth and tenacity.'
This is not the first time Trump has attacked Collins; he has also targeted other female journalists, including ABC News' Rachel Scott and a Bloomberg reporter he called 'piggy.' Stephanie Grisham, Trump's former press secretary, criticised the White House Correspondents Association for allowing such behaviour while planning to host Trump at its dinner next month.
