Trump Rips CNN's ‘Nasty’ Kaitlan Collins

President Trump blasted CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins as “stupid and nasty” in a fiery Truth Social post Saturday morning, accusing her of ignorance for questioning why his privately funded White House ballroom project has ballooned past $300 million.

The Spark:  Collins' Reporting

• During Friday night's episode of her CNN show The Source, Collins highlighted the visible construction chaos at the White House, noting a "giant crane" on-site and questioning why the ballroom's price tag had ballooned to over $250-300 million—double the initial estimates from late 2024.
• She framed it as part of a weekly recap on Trump's administration priorities, tying it to broader debates on government spending during the recent 43-day shutdown. Collins didn't directly confront Trump on camera about it but pressed him at the Kennedy Center red carpet event on Friday about unrelated foreign policy issues, like U.S. aggression toward Venezuela.
• Critics, including Democrats on her show, have dubbed the project "Trump's Taj Mahal," arguing it diverts focus from economic woes like rising grocery prices and tariff impacts.

Trump's response outburst, posted around 6 a.m. ET Saturday. Trump insisted the 90,000-square-foot East Wing replacement is “under budget and ahead of schedule,” just “much bigger and more beautiful” than originally planned, with zero taxpayer dollars involved.

Kaitlan Collins

He misspelled Collins’ name as “Caitlin Collin’s,” called her question “stupid,” and escalated to attacking CNN as “FAKE NEWS” with ratings “so low they are not even relevant anymore.”

In a response on her Instagram Story, Collins wrote, “Technically my question was about Venezuela,” in reference to the administration’s bombing of alleged drug smuggling vessels off the coast of the Latin American country.

Venezuelan president-turned-dictator Nicolás Maduro has said the real reason for the U.S. military actions is the country’s oil reserves, considered the largest in the world. The State Department has denied that claim, insisting the Caribbean boat strikes, which have killed over 80 people, are part of a campaign to stop the import of cocaine and fentanyl into the U.S.

New York Post Graphic

The ballroom, announced after Trump’s 2024 reelection, was initially estimated at $150 million. Private donors including Amazon, Meta, and Apple are footing the bill. Critics have labeled it a vanity project amid lingering economic concerns; supporters call it a legacy upgrade to America’s most famous residence.

The public feud quickly went viral, reigniting Trump’s long-running antagonism toward Collins and drawing sharp reactions across X, with MAGA accounts cheering and media defenders condemning the personal attack. Collins has not yet responded.