President Donald J. Trump took a flamethrower to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, scorching the ratings-challenged network’s chief White House correspondent in a late-night Truth Social blast on Tuesday.
In the 11:53 p.m. post, the president capped off a busy day in which he addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York City by unloading on Collins, a frequent target who had incurred his ire hours earlier.
Trump included the CNN anchor among the “sleazebags” in the media, once again describing her as “unhappy” and questioning why she was at the U.N. after he had banned the self-proclaimed “most trusted name in news” from the White House, and for good measure, diagnosed her as being addicted to him.
BREAKING: At 11:53 p.m., Trump unleashes late-night attack on the media, calls CNN’s Kaitlan Collins a “sleazebag” and “third rate reporter,” brands CNN and MSNBC “sick, treasonous, and demented” pic.twitter.com/AQRxXVxwl4
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) September 23, 2026
“All of the SLEAZEBAGS, like Third Rate ‘Reporter,’ Kaitlan Collins, of Fake News CNN, a truly unhappy person, said they weren’t going to be covering me. Then why were they ranting and raving like Lunatics, in the Press Area, at the United Nations? Why was she there?” Trump asked.
“She’s got a ‘TRUMP’ addiction, and so does CNN and MSDNC. They’re all sick, treasonous, and demented! The ‘good news, is that they have a great, for them, and totally disloyal Judge,” he concluded, referring to U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly – his own appointee – who was assigned the lawsuit by the media organizations that he banned, a judge who ruled in favor of ex-CNN pest Jim Acosta on a similar issue.
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump seemed surprised when Collins, who was among a pack of reporters at the United Nations, asked him, “Two-thirds of Americans don’t think the US is winning the war with Iran. When will it end?”
CNN’s @KaitlanCollins: “Two thirds of Americans don’t think the US is winning the war with Iran. When will it end?”
Trump responded: “You should not be here covering me. You said you weren’t going to cover me. You shouldn’t be covering me.” pic.twitter.com/BtFIvFBc37
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) September 22, 2026
After saying that he was honored to be at the U.N., Trump told her, “I’m surprised that CNN is here covering me. You shouldn’t be here,” with Collins firing back, “The United Nations allowed us in, sir.”
“You should not be here covering me,” Trump added.
“You said you weren’t going to cover me; you shouldn’t be covering me,” he said, raising his hand as if to motion for her to shut the hell up as she shouted the question again.
The president then walked away with first lady Melania Trump, leaving Collins “unhappy” that she never got him to answer her question.
“We are credentialed by the United Nations to cover the General Assembly,” she later wrote on X, sharing a clip of the exchange.
It was the latest episode in a running feud between Trump and Collins, with the POTUS having previously described her as “dumb” and joked that she resembled transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney at the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner in July.
🚨 OMG. President Trump is CLOWNING Kaitlan Collins right now
“I thought Kaitlan 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!”
“I want to personally congratulate CNN’s Kaitlan… pic.twitter.com/LKOtlf34rA
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 25, 2026
CNN did not carry Trump’s barn burner of a speech to the global body live, with anchor Wolf Blitzer telling viewers that the network would show “newsworthy moments” from the president’s address.
- Trump takes a flamethrower to CNN’s Collins after testy U.N. exchange - September 23, 2026
- Trump-endorsed GOP gubernatorial hopeful reportedly scrubs POTUS from his campaign website - September 23, 2026
- Charlamagne tha God wildly suggests Trump could nuke Iran for the midterms - September 22, 2026
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.