President Donald Trump’s remarks targeting CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner have sparked backlash online, with critics accusing him of making a personal attack during his speech.
Event Context
The comments drew criticism from several users on X, with one post accusing Trump of being a “petty, humorless, vicious person” and claiming he was only comfortable around “vacuous sycophants like his press secretary and cabinet.”
The user defended Collins, writing, “@kaitlancollins is intelligent, able and beautiful. Why don’t @CNN fight back?”
Others also criticized Trump’s remarks, with one user saying, “Why does Trump insist on doing stand up comedy every time he’s at a podium? He thinks he’s charming like Obama and it never lands that way. He’s just a bully.”
Another commenter argued that the joke itself failed, writing, “I love Donald Trump, but in all honesty, the joke didn’t land. It was poorly constructed and poorly delivered.”
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Some users debated the nature of the joke, with one person writing, “I admit she has got a masculine appearance. But I don’t think you should make fun of that. I guess that’s not my kind of humor.”
The rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Dinner was held at the Waldorf Astoria after the original April event was disrupted by a security incident involving gunfire.
Trump’s speech lasted more than an hour and included jokes and criticism directed at journalists, media organizations and political opponents.
Team Analysis
Trump singled out Collins during the rescheduled WHCD on Friday, July 24, shortly after she received an award for her coverage of his Oval Office confrontation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February 2025.
“I want to personally congratulate CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on receiving her award,” Trump said. He then questioned the recognition, saying, “It was all about me. It’s a fake; she shouldn’t get the award, it was a fake. But I didn’t mind, I said, ‘Kaitlan, congratulations.’ But it was fake, there’s no question about it.”
The president then turned to Collins’ appearance and on-camera demeanor, saying she “never smiles.”
“She’s a young, attractive woman. She never smiles,” Trump said. “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.’”
Trump later referenced transgender actor Dylan Mulvaney and the 2023 Bud Light partnership involving Mulvaney while making another joke aimed at Collins.
“I thought Kaitlan had really made it big with a major new sponsorship,” Trump said. “But then I informed her that it wasn’t her on the Bud Light can, it was Dylan Mulvaney.”
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He also criticized the Bud Light campaign, claiming, “Dylan Mulvaney cost Bud Light $35 billion in market cap,” and added, “I wouldn’t want to hire Dylan any time soon.”
