President Donald Trump used his speech to the White House Correspondents Association dinner to go after familiar targets, including members of the media and Democrats.
But his attacks – ostensibly meant to be jokes – were especially biting toward CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, the Alabama native who has risen to become a prime time star at the network. Collins, who is CNN’s Chief White House Correspondent, that evening received the WHCA Award for Excellence in Presidential News Coverage Under Deadline Pressure.
Reading from the teleprompter, Trump began his bit by congratulating Collins on her award, then the rest appeared to be a combination of on-script and off.
“I want to congratulate Kaitlan Collins on her award… it was all about me. It was fake. She shouldn’t get the award. It was a fake, but I didn’t mind,” Trump said.
“She’s a young, attractive woman – she never smiles,” Trump said, revisiting an Oval Office interaction between the two three months ago. “She never smiles. I said, ‘Kaitlin, do you ever smile?’ Smile. You have a nice position. You’re at CNN fake news. You should be a happy person. So smile, Kaitlan. Just smile.”
Appearing to get back on script, Trump then joked that he confused Collins for controversial transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
“I thought Kaitlan had really made it big with a major new sponsorship, but then I informed her that it wasn’t her on the Bud Light can. It was Dylan Mulvaney,” Trump said.
There was no laughter or any sound from the audience. See video of the speech below.
Collins has not responded directly to the president’s comments, but did post on Instagram, “The second best part of last night’s White House Correspondents Dinner was receiving an award from my friend and mentor, @wolfblitzer. The first was reminding everyone why the First Amendment — and asking uncomfortable questions that people in power don’t like — matters.”
She also shared a quotation from Elenor Roosevelt, saying “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
View this post on Instagram