10 of Donald Trump and Kaitlan Collins' Most Explosive Clashes

During a photo opportunity with Donald Trump and then-European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in 2018, Kaitlan Collins — who was serving as the pool reporter for all the TV networks at the time — fired off a few questions at the president about Vladimir Putin and Michael Cohen.

After the attempted interaction, Collins said then-White House communications director Bill Shine and press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called her into Shine's office and informed her she was banned from a Rose Garden press conference due to her "inappropriate questions."

"Just because the White House is uncomfortable with a question regarding the news of day doesn't mean the question isn't relevant and shouldn't be asked," the network responded to the White House's move. "This decision to bar a member of the press is retaliatory in nature and not indicative of an open and free press. We demand better."

Trump exchanged barbs with Collins again at a 2019 press conference after the journalist brought up the statements he made about his administration's plans to construct a wall at the U.S.–Mexico border.

"You ran your campaign promising supporters that Mexico is going to pay for the wall," Collins began, prompting Trump to shoot back, "Oh, here we go again."

"And that wall was going to be made of concrete," Collins continued. "You just said earlier that the wall could be made of steel and right now our government is shut down over a demand from your administration that the American taxpayer pay for the wall. So, how can you say that you are not failing on that promise to your supporters?"

"A very nice question so beautifully asked, even though I just answered it," Trump hit back. "I just told you that we just made a trade deal. We will take in billions and billions of dollars, far more than the cost of the wall."

As Collins tried to ask a follow-up, Trump moved on to another reporter.

While giving a White House briefing on the coronavirus pandemic, Trump lashed out at CNN and Collins over a report about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un being gravely ill after undergoing heart surgery.

"I think the report was incorrect, let me just put it that way," Trump said before attacking the CNN reporter. "I think the report was done by a network that was incorrect. I'm hearing they used old documents. But that's what I hear. I hear that the report was an incorrect report. Well I hope it was an incorrect report."

When Collins asked if he had contacted the North Koreans, Trump replied, "I don't want to say. I won't say that. We have a good relationship with North Korea – as good as you can have. I mean, we have a good relationship with North Korea. I have a good relationship with Kim Jong-un and I hope he's OK. And somebody would say 'Oh, that's terrible'. No, it's not terrible, I hope he's OK."

He added, "And I think it was a fake report, done by CNN."

Collins tried to ask a follow-up, but Trump cut her off, saying, "No, that's enough. The problem is you don't write the truth so, as far as I'm concerned I want to go to the next person."

As the reporter attempted to continue, Trump retorted sharply, "No, not CNN please. I told you: CNN is fake news, don't talk to me."

Following the exchange, Trump's staff reportedly tried to move her from her front-row seat, but Collins refused and stayed at the press conference.

Trump abruptly ended a July 2020 press conference and walked out of the venue after Collins asked him questions about a video with false information, which he retweeted.

"The woman that you said is a 'great doctor' in that video that you retweeted last night said that masks don't work and there's a cure for COVID-19, both of which experts say is not true. She's also made videos saying that doctors make medicine using DNA from aliens and that they're trying to create a vaccine to make you immune from becoming religious. So, what's the logic in retweeting that?" Collins peppered him with the question.

According to Trump, the woman in the video was "on air with many other doctors" who were "big fans of hydroxychloroquine."

"And I thought she was very impressive in the sense that where she came — I don't know which country she comes from — but she's said that she's had tremendous success with hundreds of different patients. And I thought her voice was an important voice, but I know nothing about her," he explained shortly before he stormed out of the room.

Trump and Collins locked horns once more when they took their clash online.

In May 2020, Trump reposted a video of Collins removing her mask after a press briefing amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"A CNN Faker!" he said of Collins.

The Source with Kaitlan Collins host responded in a tweet that read, "Nearly 90,000 Americans have been killed by coronavirus, and the president is tweeting about me pulling my mask down for six seconds on Friday."

During CNN's town hall on May 10, 2023, Trump and Collins exchanged jabs again as they talked about how he handled classified documents that were found in his Mar-a-Lago estate in 2022.

"Are you ready? Can I talk?" Trump asked after Collins pressed him on why he retained them despite a subpoena and requests from the National Archives.

"What's the answer?" she retorted. "I would like you to answer the question."

"It's very simple to answer," said Trump, to which Collins replied, "That's why I asked it."

"It's very simple — you're a nasty person, I'll tell ya," Trump declared before giving a detailed answer to the question.

"It's very simple. I was negotiating and we were talking to NARA — that's Washington, to bring whatever they want. They can have whatever they want," Trump shared. "When we left Washington, we had the boxes lined up on the sidewalk outside for everybody. People were taking pictures, everybody knew we were taking those boxes and the GSA — government service, the GSA was the one taking them. They brought them down to Mar-a-Lago. We were negotiating with NARA. All of a sudden, they raid our house."

On January 30, a day after American Airlines Flight 5342 and an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided mid-air, the White House held a press briefing during which Trump called out Barack Obama and Joe Biden after the former presidents allegedly lowered air traffic controllers' standards through diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.

"I changed the Obama standards from very mediocre at best to extraordinary. You remember that, only the highest aptitude, the highest intellect, and psychologically superior people were allowed to qualify for air traffic controllers," Trump said during the press conference.

He added, "And then when I left office and Biden took over, he changed them back to lower than ever before. I put safety first. Obama, Biden, and the Democrats put policy first, and they put politics at a level that nobody's ever seen because this was the lowest level."

Collins pushed back against Trump, saying, "We don't yet know the names of the 67 people [who] were killed, and you are blaming Democrats and DEI policies and air traffic control, and seemingly the member of the US military who was flying the Black Hawk helicopter. Don't you think you're getting ahead of the investigation right now?"

Trump then responded sharply, "I don't think so at all. I don't think the names of the people — you mean the names of the people that are on the plane — you think that's going to make a difference?"

When Collins asked Trump if blaming DEI policies could comfort the victims' families, the father-of-five said he could give her a list of the people who were killed during the incident.

"I think that's not a very smart question," Trump scolded Collins.

The primetime host queried him once more for "blaming air traffic controllers," but Trump cut her off again and said, "I'm surprised coming from you."

During a February briefing, Trump lashed out at Collins after she challenged him over his trust in Putin amid the war in Ukraine.

"When Putin says that he really wants peace, do you believe him?" the former CNN This Morning co-anchor asked, to which Trump replied, "Yeah, I do."

The businessman continued, "I believe he wants peace. I believe that President Putin — when I spoke to him yesterday, I mean, I know him very well — yeah, I think it was peace. I think he would tell me if he didn't, I think he'd— I'd like to see peace."

After Collins hammered him about trusting Putin, Trump blamed Biden and criticized his handling of the situation.

"You lost millions of people when they knocked down those cities. And they're all lying down on the side. They're lying down just in ashes and all crumbled up concrete. They literally look like a world-class demolition site. And many of them, almost all of them, but many of them. And this should have been done by Biden years ago. This should have never been allowed to happen," he declared. "I know Biden is a friend of yours. He's a friend of CNN. That's why nobody watches CNN anymore. Because they have no credibility."

The Atlantic released a March report confirming that its editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was accidentally added to Trump administration members' secret group chat where they shared plans about a forthcoming attack against Yemen's Houthi rebels.

During a meeting with ambassadors at the White House, Collins tried to ask Trump a question only to be interrupted in the end.

"Mr. President, you said that your national security learned a lesson after a reporter –," Collins began, with Trump immediately telling her, "Excuse me, I didn't pick you."

The president then pointed to another reporter and asked them to "go ahead."

On April 15, Collins inquired about whether Trump plans to ask El Salvador President Nayib Bukele "to help return the man who your administration says was mistakenly deported."

Instead of answering the question directly, Trump asked United States Attorney General Pam Bondi to respond.

"First and foremost, he was illegally in our country," Bondi said of Maryland man Kilmar Abrego Garcia. "He had been illegally in our country. And in 2019, two courts, an immigration court and an appellate immigration court, ruled that he was a member of [the gang] MS-13, and he was illegally in our country. Right now, it was a paperwork — it was additional paperwork had needed to be done. That's up to El Salvador if they want to return him. That's not up to us."

Trump also asked United States Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Millerto incorporate more information. However, Collins still dug in The Apprentice star's heels by adding, "Mr. President, you said that if the Supreme Court said someone needed to be returned, that you would abide by that. You said that on Air Force One, just a few days ago. And they said that —."

The commander-in-chief snapped at Collins and cut her off, asking her, "How long do we have to answer this question from you? Why don't you just say, 'Isn't it wonderful that we're keeping criminals out of our country.' Why can't you just say that?"

Later that night, Collins played video clips from the conference on The Source With Kaitlan Collins and criticized Trump's way of asking other people to answer the questions instead.