Smirking Kaitlan Collins hits back after President Trump’s transgender jibes as CNN star claims her success has ‘really bothered’ him
Kaitlan Collins struck back at President Trump after he compared her to transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner.
Collins made the rare admission after the president said she reminded him of the viral Bud Light girl and posted a series of images that combined their likeness.
‘The fact that I got an award for it really bothered him clearly,’ she said in an interview with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show Monday night.
‘And so I just think in those moments, it’s important to put the reminder back on the work, and the question and the non-answers we get.’
She was one of the several journalists presented with an award at the dinner for her often critical coverage of the President.
During his speech Friday night, Trump took time to focus on Collins and her success.
‘I want to personally congratulate CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on receiving her award. It was all about me. It was a fake, she shouldn’t get the award, it was a fake. But I didn’t mind,’ he riffed.
Collins insisted the incident serves as a reminder that ‘when he is insulting me or when he is criticizing me about the question I asked or the reporting that I did, that he was so angry about in this moment.’
Kaitlin Collins said she believes Donald Trump was ‘really bothered’ after she received an award ahead of the President’s roast of the CNN anchor at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
Trump joked at the event Friday that Collins resembled transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney and has since doubled down on the bit on his Truth Social page
‘It’s not really about me and I don’t want it to be about my reaction. I think if you let it become about that, then it becomes a back-and-forth between the two of us,’ she added.
It also comes with the territory for the CNN host, who also often spars with Trump in the Oval Office.
‘That happens pretty regularly inside the Oval Office. This is just a bigger venue where it was happening,’ she said of the insults at the dinner.
Collins noted that it didn’t appear the joke went over well in the room when Stewart asked if the President was ‘bombing as hard as it appeared on the TV.’
She said that despite the event being packed with Trump’s allies and cabinet members, it was ‘so quiet in the room during the president’s remarks.’
‘Because of how much they respect him,’ quipped Stewart.
Collins responded, asking: ‘Who’s to say?’
The president has frequently sparred with Collins in Oval Office press conferences, and he took several shots at her during his remarks Friday night.
The president has frequently sparred with Collins in Oval Office press conferences, and he took several shots at her during his remarks Friday night, including that she resembled Mulvaney (pictured)
She said she was ‘not surprised’ that Trump made fun of her after she was one of the several journalists presented with an award at the dinner and that winning for her often critical coverage of the President got to him
‘I thought Kaitlan had really made it big with a major new sponsorship,’ Trump said of Collins.
‘But then I informed her that it wasn’t her on the Bud Light can, it was Dylan Mulvaney.’
Mulvaney has been open with her fans about her facial feminization surgery during her transition from male to female. She also starred in her autobiographical Off-Broadway show ‘The Least Problematic Woman in the World’ in 2025.
Bud Light suffered a huge drop in sales in 2023 after Mulvaney shared images of herself with a custom beer can as part of a marketing campaign, which also marked her first full year transitioning.
The promotion detonated a backlash that quickly grew into a full-scale boycott, fueled by conservative outrage, which was amplified across social media and right-wing news outlets.
Trump then repeated a previous criticism of Collins – that she allegedly does not smile.
‘She’s a young, attractive woman, but she never smiles. I said, ”Kaitlan 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.’
On Sunday, Trump shared an image of Collins’s face superimposed on Mulvaney’s body in the viral Bud Light advert that catapulted the trans influencer to notoriety in April 2023.
Mulvaney created an uproar against the beer company in 2023 when she shared images of herself with a custom beer can featuring her face as part of a marketing campaign marking Mulvaney’s first full year transitioning
His infamous endorsement of the US-brewed beer triggered nationwide boycotts and a massive conservative backlash that the brand is only just recovering from.
Collins, responding to the first attack by Trump on Friday, wrote online: ‘The second best part of last night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner was receiving an award from my friend and mentor, @wolfblitzer.’
She then added, ‘the first was reminding everyone why the First Amendment—and asking uncomfortable questions that people in power don’t like—matters,’ an apparent poke at Trump’s attack.
Trump’s clashes with Collins have been ongoing for many years.
Earlier this week, Semafor reported that CNN leadership and staff are ‘furious’ with Trump for the comments and the network’s executives and leadership are now discussing potentially bailing on next year’s dinner.
The network itself defended Collins and its entire team when reached by The Daily Mail Friday for comment.
‘Kaitlan Collins is an exceptional, trusted journalist being honored tonight for her depth of knowledge and the context she provides to audiences all over the world,’ they said.
‘She reports every day from the White House and the field with real strength and tenacity and skillfully brings that reporting to the anchor chair and CNN platforms every day. We stand by her to the fullest extent.’
