In an appearance on The Daily Show, CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins made revealing comments about President Donald Trump's conduct during Oval Office press conferences, saying she doesn't let his personal attacks stop her from asking "challenging" or "critical" questions.
Collins said she's had "the same model the entire time" she's covered the president, saying she's "never had a back and forth with him" and has "always brought it back to the question."
She added:
"I think he does surround himself with people who praise him or laugh at his jokes, and when he's confronted with someone who is asking a challenging question, or a critical question of his policy or strategy in the Iran war, I think he doesn't like it, and he lashes out over it."
"There are moments when I've gone into the Oval Office on behalf of the TV pool and I haven't even asked a question yet and he starts criticizing me. It's not even always about the questions. Sometimes, it's just my presence in the room."
"Again, I think it's important in that moment, [to remember] it's really not about me because I do think my colleagues at CNN, my colleagues in the press corps do a good job trying to ask tough questions, doing good reporting. You don't have to smile while doing that and I think that's what's important."
You can hear what she said in the video below.
Her remarks have given people something to think about.
Collins' remarks came just days after Trump made a transphobic joke about her at the rescheduled White House Correspondents' Dinner on Friday evening.
Collins received an award celebrating her journalistic achievements thus far from the WHCA; the award was presented to her by her CNN colleague Wolf Blitzer.
Trump, taking the stage afterward, congratulated Collins but cast doubt on the award she had just won and made a transphobic joke about Collins that referenced transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney's controversial Bud Light sponsorship:
"I thought she had really made it big with a major new sponsorship but then I informed her that it wasn't her on the Bud Light can. It was Dylan Mulvaney. Dylan Mulvaney cost $35 billion in market cap. That was the worst commercial ever made, for those few people who want to hear that."
"Most people wouldn't care but I would. I wouldn't want to hire Dylan anytime soon. Think of it, they hired Dylan Mulvaney and their market cap has gone down by $35 billion. Who wrote that commercial?"
Afterward, Collins took to Instagram, where she shared two photos of herself with Blitzer, a video of him announcing her award, a statement from CNN management expressing support for her and other journalists targeted by Trump, as well as the now famous Eleanor Roosevelt quote, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
Collins, referencing Trump's remarks, said the WHCA dinner serves to remind[ing] everyone why the First Amendment—and asking uncomfortable questions that people in power don’t like—matters."
