Donald Trump Lashes Out at CNN's Kaitlan Collins in Heated Attack as Tensions With the Network Escalate: 'You're a Low-IQ Person'

President Donald Trump once again verbally attacked CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins, calling her a "dummy" and a "low-IQ person" after she questioned him outside the White House. The confrontation occurred as Trump was speaking on a media call before traveling to a campaign rally in South Carolina.

The heated exchange began when Collins, 34, a frequent target of the president’s ire, asked Trump about his controversial decision to waive sweeping new sanctions against Russia, fueled by her pushback against his policies.

She also pressed him on whether the decision was connected to Russia's recent release of American prisoner and Michigan teacher Stephen Hubbard.

“You’re campaigning for Darline Graham. What has she said to you about lifting those sanctions on Russia that her brother fought so hard for?” Collins asked.

“If I would have done that, you would not have Mr. Hubbard coming back,” the president claimed, before adding, “And you don’t know anything. I mean, you’re fake news CNN.”

Defending his decision to hold off on the sanctions, Trump snapped at Collins, stating, "You don't know anything, I mean, you're fake news CNN." He added, "You don't know what you're talking about. You're a dummy. You're a low-IQ person. You're a dummy, and you work for CNN.”

Trump followed up with a late-night tirade on his Truth Social platform, calling Collins "very dumb and unhappy" and criticizing her panel segments as "fiction and lies," while also mocking CNN's ratings and accusing her of having a "Trump addiction.”

The 80-year-old president’s outburst marks the latest escalation in an ongoing war between Trump and major press outlets, occurring just weeks before the midterm elections.

Trump previously banned reporters from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House press pool, accusing them of reporting lies. A federal judge temporarily blocked the ban, but restrictions have continued to limit media access, including barring CNN from covering his travels to Texas and Oklahoma.

Collins has been a frequent target of Trump's personal insults throughout 2026. He has previously targeted her at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, during confrontations at the United Nations General Assembly, and during an Oval Office media availability where he called her "the worst reporter.”

After the White House interaction, Collins addressed the confrontation and the underlying policy questions about Russia on her CNN program.

On the Wednesday, October 21, broadcast of The Source, Collins chose not to directly engage with Trump’s personal insults, opting instead to use factual "receipts" to counter his narrative.

Rather than making the story about her personal reaction, she focused on exposing the political contradictions surrounding his policy decision.

She played the unedited clip of the encounter, which showed Trump calling her a "dummy" and a "low-IQ person" before similarly lashing out at ABC News correspondent Karen Travers by calling her a "stupid person" for pressing the same questions.