Overview
- During an Oval Office press availability, Kaitlan Collins asked for his message to Jeffrey Epstein’s survivors, prompting Trump to call her “the worst reporter” and scold her for not smiling.
- He declined to answer the question, criticized CNN as dishonest, and was later heard telling Sen. John Barrasso “she never smiles” as reporters were escorted out.
- CNN quickly issued a statement defending Collins as an exceptional journalist who reports with depth and tenacity.
- Trump downplayed the newly released Epstein documents, urged the country to “move on,” and claimed references to him reflect an alleged Epstein–Michael Wolff effort to harm him politically.
- Reports place the exchange in a pattern of Trump targeting women journalists, citing earlier insults to Bloomberg’s Catherine Lucey and The New York Times’ Katie Rogers.