Kaitlan Collins WHCD post follows Trump’s jabs at dinner
Kaitlan Collins shared an Eleanor Roosevelt quote after Trump joked about her during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
3 min read
Kaitlan Collins’ WHCD night moved from an award moment to a social-media eyebrow raise after President Donald Trump singled out the CNN correspondent during the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Collins posted photos on Instagram on Saturday from the event, including images with longtime CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, and added an Eleanor Roosevelt line: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” The post landed hours after Trump aimed remarks at her from the dinner stage, according to footage carried by C-SPAN and reporting by TMZ.
Collins did not name Trump in the Instagram post. Neither Collins nor the White House has publicly said whether the quote was meant as a direct answer to the president’s comments.
Did Kaitlan Collins respond to Trump at the WHCD?
Collins has not publicly described her post as a direct response to Trump. The timing, coming shortly after his remarks about her at the dinner, led TMZ to report that many viewed the Roosevelt quote as a pointed reaction.
Trump’s comments came Friday night at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C., where Collins was being recognized with an award for Excellence in Presidential News Coverage Under Deadline Pressure.
According to TMZ, Trump noted the honor during his remarks, then turned the moment into jokes about Collins. C-SPAN video of the event showed Trump addressing her from the podium.
The award was tied to Collins’ reporting on Trump’s tense Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, TMZ reported.
What did Trump say about Kaitlan Collins?
During the dinner, Trump said he wanted to congratulate Collins on her Bud Light commercial, then said he was told the person in the ad was actually Dylan Mulvaney, according to TMZ’s account of the remarks.
TMZ also reported that Trump accused Collins of never smiling and said she should be happy because she works at “CNN Fake News.” A separate TMZ DC video showed Collins leaving the dinner smiling after the event.
Collins has frequently challenged Trump in public settings, including press briefings and campaign events, and has often been the target of his criticism, TMZ reported.
CNN praised Collins after the award
Collins also shared CNN’s statement about her award in the Instagram post. The network called her “an exceptional, trusted journalist,” according to the post described by TMZ.
In her caption, Collins wrote that “the second best part” of the dinner was receiving the award from Blitzer, whom she called her friend and mentor. She said the best part was “reminding everyone why the First Amendment” and asking tough questions of powerful people matter.
The post put Collins’ focus on her work and the award, while the Roosevelt quote did the talking for anyone watching the aftershocks from Trump’s appearance.
This story draws on original reporting from TMZ.