CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Speculates on Reason for President Trump Attacks on Her: ‘He Doesn’t Like My Questions’

Kaitlan Collins isn’t backing down from a fight — not even if it involves the president of the United States.

In a candid new Interview conversation published June 9, the CNN anchor, 34, talks about what she believes is really driving President Donald Trump‘s anger.

“I think it’s because he doesn’t like my questions in the briefing room. I don’t think it’s a personal reflection,” she told McCreesh. “I do think that this term, people have started to notice the difference in his reaction when women like Mary Bruce or Nancy Cordes are doing the questioning.”

Collins pointed to a February exchange in the Oval Office as a prime example. When she pressed Trump on his connection to Jeffrey Epstein, he deflected entirely. “When I asked him about Epstein in the Oval Office, he said, ‘In the 10 years you’ve covered me, I’ve never seen you smile,'” she said. “He wasn’t even really listening to the question.”

“My job is to ask questions in the briefing room, and I’m not going to take it easy on anyone,” Collins said. “That’s what press secretaries sign up for, taking tough questions.”

The conversation turned pointed when the pair addressed how the president has responded to female reporters asking tough questions. “I do think Trump is an equal opportunity sniper in how he insults people online, but I also think people have really noticed the way he’s been answering women reporters,” noted McCreesh during the interview.

Collins acknowledged that Trump is not welcoming of difficult questions from anyone, pointing to his treatment of colleagues like Jonathan Karl and Peter Alexander, but said something feels different when women are the ones doing the asking. Collins cited correspondent Catherine Lucey, whom Trump called “Miss Piggy” aboard Air Force One. “I was standing near Nancy Cordes at Mar-a-Lago on Thanksgiving when he turned on her and asked, “Are you a stupid person?” shared McCreesh.

“All of them are excellent reporters,” Collins said. “They don’t need our defense because they know they’re awesome.”

Collins also touched on the evolution of Trump himself over nearly a decade of coverage. “I think he’s still Trump,” she said, noting that his old interviews from the ’80s and ’90s reveal the same mannerisms and positions. “But I think he’s so much more emboldened this time around.”

During a recent interview with Meet The Press, Trump walked out of an interview after Kristen Welker pushed back on his repeated false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and questioned him about financial compensation for those charged in connection with the January 6 Capitol insurrection.