Alabama native and CNN Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins once again drew the attention of President Donald Trump at Friday’s White House Correspondents Association dinner in Washington.
The event took place after a gunman allegedly attempted an attack on the president’s life at the dinner back in April.
Collins was only one of several members of the press to receive the brunt of Trump’s remarks during the black-tie event, which lasted more than an hour.
Collins won the 2026 WHCA award for broadcast for her coverage of Trump’s contentious meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in February 2025, according to Variety.
Trump congratulated her before adding her reporting “was all about me. It’s a fake. She shouldn’t get the award. It was a fake, but I didn’t mind.”
“She never smiles,” he told the gathering. “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.”
The president continued, saying Collins had signed “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.
Mulvaney, a transgender influencer, endorsed the beer in 2023, intiating a campaign that resulted in a backlash and a steep drop in sales.
“Dylan Mulvaney cost Bud Lite $35 million in market cap. It was the worst commercial ever made, by the way. For those few people that want to hear that, most people don’t care, but I would. I wouldn’t want to hire Dylan anytime soon.”
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer could be seen on video eyeing Collins across the table at the moment.
Collins’ network responded with a defense of her and other reporters Trump mentioned in his remarks.
“We stand by our journalists and the integrity and fair-mindedness with which the CNN team reports the news,” CNN CEO Mark Thompson said in a statement late Friday on X.
“Honest, accurate journalism may sometimes irritate politicians, but our right to report and present that reporting to the public without government interference is fully protected by the U.S. Constitution.”
Earlier this year, Trump told Collins she was “so bad.”
“You are so bad,” Trump said. “You are the worst reporter. No wonder CNN has no ratings, because of people like you. You know she’s a young woman, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile. I’ve known you for 10 years, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smile on your face.”
Collins told The New York Times’ Shawn McCreesh that observers have acknowledged a difference in Trump’s treatment of male and female journalists.
“Well, I don’t think the president likes tough questions from anyone, and he’s threatened a lot of our colleagues who are men, like Jonathan Karl and Peter Alexander,” Collins told McCreesh.
William Thornton; al.com; (TNS) || ©2026 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit al.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
