Donald Trump's Icy Snub Of CNN's Kaitlan Collins Hints She's On His Last Nerve
Donald Trump's body language towards CNN's Kaitlan Collins during a press conference showed that she was getting on his nerves. The feud between Collins and Trump is well-known, and she attempted to downplay it on the "Hasan Minhaj Doesn't Know" podcast on November 5. "My job is not to take down Trump. I'm a reporter and an anchor," she said on the pre-recorded podcast. That same day that the podcast aired, the news anchor made a pointed statement to the president that had him looking visibly agitated.
Kaitlan Collins: You sound very frustrated by last night's election.
Trump: Thank you very much.
— Maine (@TheMaineWonk) November 5, 2025
Trump addressed the media at the White House Breakfast for Senators, a day after Republicans had a rough day at the polls and lost multiple elections to the Democrats. At the tail end of his presser, Collins wanted to gauge how POTUS felt about the losses. "Mr. President, you sound very frustrated by last night's elections," she said. Instead of replying, Trump appeared to try and keep his anger in check as he took deep breaths. "Thank you very much," was all he said before simply stepping away from the podium with an annoyed look.
A clip of the exchange was shared on X, where users noted how bothered Trump seemed by Collins pointing out his disappointment in the election results. "You can always tell he's p***ed when he breathes like that," one user commented. Others noted how Collins frequently found a subtle way to ruffle the president's feathers. "Kaitlan Collins always messing with fat a** Trump!" an anti-Trumpster wrote. Another pointed out that Trump refrained from using his usual comeback against Collins. "Normally CNN fake news always comes up then, but even that didn't show up," they tweeted. That was exactly the reply he used a couple weeks earlier when Trump went haywire on Collins with a catty takedown.
Donald Trump loses his composure with Kaitlan Collins
Kaitlan Collins hit a sore spot with Donald Trump on October 23 when she asked about his decision to pardon crypto billionaire Changpeng Zhao, who is the co-founder and former CEO of Binance. "He has an involvement in your family's crypto business," the CNN reporter pointed out to Trump, who at first acted as if he was unfamiliar with the person in question. POTUS then attempted to explain his reasoning by claiming Zhao was innocent. "He admitted his crimes," Collins interjected. That remark caused Trump to lose his composure, and instead of answering the news anchor, he decided to lash out at her credentials. "You know nothing about nothing. You're fake news," he petulantly replied. Collins was apparently proud of getting Trump flustered as she posted a clip of the exchange to her own X timeline.
Months earlier, Trump showed that Collins got under his skin when he used a similar response at the NATO Summit in June. While fielding questions from members of the press, the president recognized his media adversary in the crowd and went on the offensive. "Fake news CNN. Ay yi yi. Here we go. Wait 'til you hear this question," he said before letting Collins speak, which earned a chuckle from several people in attendance. That wasn't the only jab he threw at Collins, as he also made a demand that put her on the spot. "You should really say how great our soldiers and our warriors are," he told the CNN reporter. "I think everyone appreciates our soldiers and our warriors," Collins said before firing off her questions.