'Absolutely Disgusting': Gavin Newsom Slams 'Sexual Predator' Donald Trump for Targeting 'Female Journalist' Kaitlan Collins

The press office for California Gov. Gavin Newsom fiercely condemned President Donald Trump after the POTUS launched a personal, sexist attack against CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins during a press conference on Wednesday, June 3.

Responding directly to the incident via social media, the Governor's Press Office posted: "A sexual predator responding to a female journalist by telling her to smile. Absolutely disgusting."

While speaking about the administration's decision to drop a controversial $1.8 billion slush fund proposal, Trump pivoted to attack Collins, calling her a "young, beautiful woman" who "never smiles" and claiming she has "hatred in her eyes.”

When Collins pressed Trump regarding concerns that the proposed fund could have benefited January 6 defendants, Trump sidestepped the query and told Collins to "be quiet." He added she "should be ashamed" and criticized her network.

He also targeted her roots, stating she "used to be a conservative from Alabama," to which Collins, a former employee of right-wing website The Daily Caller, responded, "I'm still from Alabama."

Newsom’s official press team labeled the president's behavior as "absolutely disgusting" and reappropriated the "smile more" sexist trope to remind the public of Trump's history of sexual abuse liabilities.

The exchange marks the latest escalation in an ongoing feud between Gov. Newsom and the Trump administration.

Newsom’s use of the term “sexual predator” stems from Trump’s previous charges, when he was found legally liable for sexual abuse in a federal civil court case.

In May 2023, a New York jury ruled that Trump had forcibly and nonconsensually sexually abused and defamed writer E. Jean Carroll.

Following the verdict, presiding U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan clarified that the jury's findings established that Trump had raped Carroll, according to the common definition of the word.

Newsom's office was part of a larger wave of support for the CNN anchor. Numerous fellow journalists rallied behind Collins, pointing out a pattern of casual, sexist attacks against female reporters who challenge the administration.

Observers noted that the pushback served as a collective reminder that female journalists are under no obligation to alter their expressions or smile while doing their jobs.

While Newsom defended Collins, her fellow journalists in the Oval Office sat silently as the almost 80-year-old president berated her.

Collins’ CNN colleague Anderson Cooper, who was not present, defended Collins on his show later that night.

Cooper noted that these hostile interactions "don't happen to men," adding, "That’s the president of the United States, a nearly 80-year-old man who has no problem commenting on her physical appearance and telling her she needs to smile."

A CNN spokesperson has previously defended Collins following the many attacks on her by the president, stating that "Kaitlan Collins is an exceptional journalist, reporting every day from the White House and the field with real depth and tenacity.”