What To Know
- President Donald Trump attacked CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins on social media, calling her “stupid and nasty” and misspelling her name in a post criticizing her reporting.
- CNN’s Jake Tapper publicly defended Collins, correcting Trump’s statements, affirming her professionalism, and highlighting the legitimacy of her questions.
- Collins clarified that her question was about Venezuela, not the White House ballroom.
CNN anchor Jake Tapper came to Kaitlan Collins‘ defense on Saturday (December 6) after President Donald Trump attacked his network colleague in a lengthy Truth Social rant.
Earlier on Saturday, Trump blasted Collins on social media, calling her “stupid and nasty” and misspelling her first name with a “C” instead of a “K” and punctuating her surname with an unnecessary apostrophe.
“Caitlin Collin’s of Fake News CNN, always Stupid and Nasty, asked me why the new Ballroom was costing more money than originally thought one year ago,” the President wrote. “I said because it is going to be double the size, and the quality of finishes and interiors has been brought to the highest level.”
Later that day, Tapper took to X, sharing a screenshot of Trump’s post alongside a list of numbered bullet points countering the President’s statements.
1) “Kaitlan Collins”
2) she’s smart
3) she’s nice
4) it’s a legitimate question about construction of a controversial project on White House grounds
5) Thanks for the explanation
6) generally speaking if someone or something is irrelevant, the President doesn’t talk about them pic.twitter.com/YmonfntVjH— Jake Tapper 🦅 (@jaketapper) December 6, 2025
The State of the Union co-host started by correcting Trump’s misspelling, writing, “1) ‘Kaitlan Collins.’” He then refuted the President’s description of Collins as “stupid and nasty.” Tapper wrote, “2) she’s smart 3) she’s nice.”
Tapper went on to say that Collins’ question about the cost of Trump’s new ballroom was “a legitimate question about construction of a controversial project on White House grounds.”
It should be noted, however, that Collins herself denied asking about the ballroom in her own response to Trump’s post. “Technically my question was about Venezuela,” she wrote on her Instagram Stories.
In Trump’s lengthy Truth Social rant, he addressed the ballroom controversy, to which Tapper responded, “Thanks for the explanation.”
Tapper ended his post by defending both Collins and CNN against accusations of being “fake news,” writing, “Generally speaking, if someone or something is irrelevant, the President doesn’t talk about them.”
Trump has frequently insulted Collins throughout the year, including during an Oval Office presser in February. When The Source anchor asked Trump about his relationship with Vladimir Putin, he fired back, “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 President also dismissed Collins aboard Air Force One back in June after she asked about his early departure from the G7 Summit in Canada. “Who else has a question other than CNN fake news?” Trump said.
Trump’s latest comments come just weeks after he drew backlash for telling Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey, “Quiet, piggy,” after she asked him a question about the Epstein files. He also insulted CBS News senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang and NewsNation’s Libby Dean last week when he told them they were “incapable” of passing a cognitive test.