A familiar scene played out in the Oval Office on Wednesday, one that felt less like breaking news and more like a broken record.
A reporter asked President Donald Trump a question about one of his administration’s most controversial decisions, one that sparked a Republican revolt on Capitol Hill. But rather than provide a clear answer, Trump pivoted to attacking the messenger. And when the reporter refused to back down, the exchange unfolded much like critics have come to expect.
Whenever faced with tough questions he’d rather not answer, Trump often shifts the spotlight from the substance of the issue to the person asking about it, turning policy disputes into personal battles.
The latest squabble between Trump and CNN is fueling new suspicions about whether the president’s attacks serve as a convenient way to sidestep scrutiny of his own involvement in questionable policies.
The dispute began when White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins sought clarification about the future of the administration’s so-called anti-weaponization fund, a proposed $1.776 billion program that had already faced bipartisan outrage over concerns it could compensate violent Jan. 6 rioters.
A day earlier, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told lawmakers the idea was dead, prompting Collins to ask whether it had been permanently scrapped or merely paused.
‘Crooked’: Todd Blanche Told Congress the $1.8 Billion Fund Was Finished — Then Critics Read the Fine Print and Found the Loophole He and Trump Were Counting On Nobody Finding
“Just to clarify on what you were asked earlier, is the $1.8 billion DOJ fund dead or is it on hold?” Collins asked.
Trump initially responded that he was unsure of the legal status of the proposal.
“It’s uh, I’d have to ask the lawyers, I don’t know. I know one thing, the weaponization. Are you talking about the weaponization fund? The weaponization fund, as far as I’m concerned, was a beautiful thing. It was something I didn’t make it, but I heard that. I thought that was the greatest thing because people like you have abused our people so badly. The fake news, like CNN, like the New York Times and like others, have abused our people …”
Collins attempted to point out that criticism of the fund had come directly from Republicans.
“Well, Republicans were critical about it, Mr. President, on Capitol Hill,” she said.
But Trump immediately cut her off.
“Wait a minute, be quiet … have abused our people so badly, and you should be ashamed of yourself. You used to be a conservative. She was a conservative from Alabama. Can you believe it?”
Collins responded with a brief correction.
“I’m still from Alabama.”
Trump continued speaking over her.
“But CNN, in particular, CNN does such false reporting. But now they have new ownership, so maybe it’ll straighten it out. I doubt it, but it’s hard to straighten garbage out. But CNN has abused, and others have abused so badly. People. These are people that are great people that were destroyed,” he said, describing the Jan. 6 rioters. “Their families have been destroyed. Many suicides. They committed suicide. People that went there to, with love. They went there with love.”
The confrontation did not end there. During another exchange, Trump again turned his attention to Collins, this time making remarks about her appearance and facial expressions.
“She never smiles. She’s a young, beautiful woman, never smiles. I never see a smile on her face. I see her standing there with hatred in her eyes. Like, she has hatred because we have borders, because we have a strong military, because we cut our taxes, because we do things that everybody wanted,” he said.
Rather than clarify the fate of the fund, Trump began rambling about the 2024 election, Iran and his personal grievances toward the media.
“And then we win our election in a massive landslide. We win 87% of the counties in this country. Nobody’s ever heard of a thing like that. And that’s because we’re doing the right job. And we took a detour down to Iran, because we can’t let Iran have a nuclear weapon… So the reporters should be happy. They shouldn’t be unhappy. They should be very happy. Because you know what we’re doing? We’re saving our country.”
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The comments immediately triggered backlash online.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office posted on X: “A sexual predator responding to a female journalist by telling her to smile. Absolutely disgusting.”
Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari wrote: “Nothing to see here. Just our clearly deteriorating president attacking women and the free press. For the millionth time, without any consequences.”
Other critics echoed those sentiments.
“Maybe, when this second term of his is finally wrapping up, someone in that room will finally have the balls to say to his face what everyone is thinking,” one commenter wrote on Newsom’s thread.
Another praised Collins’ refusal to retreat, writing: “Credit to Collins for not flinching in the face of a misogynist.”
Others were even harsher.
“Textbook misogyny. The second Trump’s faced with a professional woman who stands up to him, his fragile ego breaks. So he tries to focus on her looks and telling her to smile because he can’t handle being questioned by a strong woman. What an absolute a—hole.”
“The American people are exhausted by him. It’s so bad now that you can tell the reason he repeats this rubbish is because he’s a magician who has no more tricks, so he’s reverting back to the old hits.”
Another added about Trump: “I’ll smile when you’re dead. Sh-t, we’ll all smile.”
Trump’s supporters pushed back, arguing that critics were misrepresenting what happened.
“He’s not telling her to smile, you commie psycho. Trump’s saying she always appears angry while presenting a corrupt CNN agenda. All you leftist hypocrites are the truly disgusting ones. If you dislike half of Americans have the balls to say it—not just make Trump the boogeyman.”
Another defender wrote: “I watched it and Caitlin Collins always has a scowl on her face she never smiles.”
CNN also came to Collins’ defense after the exchange. In a statement, the network said: “Kaitlan Collins is an exceptional journalist, reporting every day from the White House and the field with real depth and tenacity. She skillfully brings that reporting to the anchor chair and CNN platforms every day, which audiences around the world know they can trust.”
