PoliticsDonald Trump Claims 'Third Rate Reporter' Kaitlan Collins Has POTUS 'Addiction' in Late-Night Rant
Donald Trump lashed out on Truth Social at CNN's Kaitlan Collins, accusing her and her network of having a 'Trump addiction.'
Sept. 23 2026, Published 2:10 p.m. ET
President Donald Trump launched a late-night Truth Social tirade against CNN correspondent Kaitlan Collins, accusing her and her network of having a "TRUMP addiction" following a fiery exchange at the United Nations.
The confrontation, sparked by a recent White House press ban on specific news organizations, has since been submitted as evidence in an ongoing joint lawsuit challenging the administration's restrictions.
When the president noticed Collins at the UN, he expressed, “I’m surprised CNN is here covering me. You shouldn’t be here.”
'You Shouldn't Be Covering Me'
Kaitlan Collins pointed out that CNN 'never' said they wouldn't cover the president.
Collins replied, “the United Nations allowed us in, sir.”
“You should not be here covering me,” Trump continued. “You said you weren’t going to cover me; you shouldn’t be covering me.”
Later that night on her colleague Anderson Cooper’s show, Collins weighed in on the spat, explicitly denying Trump's claim that CNN said they would stop covering him.
She clarified, “The president himself there was saying something that CNN has never asserted about not covering him. We've never said that.”
Inside the Ban
Donald Trump asked Kaitlan Collins why she was at the UN summit after he banned CNN.
She asserted that the network's job remains unaffected despite the administration's actions, stating, “The president is the one who's trying to dictate how we cover him. And, of course, it is still our job to do so.”
Collins noted that Trump's confrontation at the United Nations headquarters proved his White House press ban is failing to keep her network away, as CNN was independently credentialed directly through the United Nations rather than the White House.
She also predicted, like many legal experts have, that the administration's media ban would likely fail in court. Collins stated there was internal realization within the administration that the ban lacks "legal muster and legal standing" and that a federal judge would likely restore their credentials shortly.
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Media outlets filed a lawsuit after Donald Trump banned CNN and other outlets from the White House.
Shortly after her appearance on Cooper’s show, she talked to New Jersey Democrat Sen. Cory Booker on her own series.
After Booker said, “The way the president disrespected you should outrage all Americans,” Collins replied, “If it can happen to CNN, it can happen to any other outlet.”
Donald Trump Lashes Out at Kaitlan Collins and CNN
Donald Trump called the CNN star 'a third rate reporter.'
Trump may have been watching.
An incensed Trump posted, “All of the SLEAZEBAGS, like Third Rate 'Reporter,' Kaitlan Collins, of Fake News CNN, a truly unhappy person, said they weren’t going to be covering me. Then why were they ranting and raving like Lunatics, in the Press Area, at the United Nations? Why was she there?” Trump asked at 11:53 p.m. Tuesday, September 22.
He continued bashing Collins, saying, “She’s got a ‘TRUMP’ addiction, and so does CNN and MSDNC. They’re all sick, treasonous, and demented! The “good news” is that they have a great, for them, and totally disloyal Judge. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
