Donald Trump attacked CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins during a heated White House briefing on Monday. Defending Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth against impeachment, Trump grew angry when questioned about the official. He lashed out at Collins and Representative Thomas Massie, calling them losers while dismissing recent election results as being ridiculous.
US President Donald Trump attacks CNN's reporter during a heated White House exchange as he defends Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth against impeachment
Donald Trump has unleashed another fierce attack on CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins while mounting a heated defense of embattled Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth. One week after suffering an extraordinary midterm election wipeout, the president made an unexpected appearance at the White House on Monday afternoon, briefing journalists alongside UFC boss Dana White. After joking that he wanted White to serve as his press secretary and providing an update on the Iran war following a productive meeting with Qatari officials earlier in the day, Trump started taking questions from reporters.
It did not take long for the president to lose his temper. When Collins asked whether he would continue supporting Hegseth if Congress ultimately impeached him, Trump responded, "Yeah, I'll stand by him," claiming that "he won two wars", an apparent reference to the strike on Venezuela and the ongoing Iran war. Collins followed up by pressing Trump on the allegations against Hegseth. "Massie says he carried out an illegal act," she told the president, referring to the articles of impeachment introduced in the House on Monday by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie.
Trump responded angrily, targeting both Massie and the CNN journalist. "Massie's a loser, just like you're a loser at CNN!" an angry Trump fired back. "Just like your ratings are a loser. Massie is a loser, stone cold loser!"
The impromptu briefing marked Trump's first such appearance since the midterm election rout, which saw Democrats regain control of Congress and flip traditionally Republican strongholds, including Texas, Kansas and South Carolina. During the briefing, Trump dismissed the election outcome as 'ridiculous' while expressing anger over the stock market's decline following the results. The latest confrontation adds to a series of clashes between Trump and female journalists who have questioned him.
He has previously criticised Collins for not smiling enough and attacked Washington Post reporter Natalie Allison for asking about divisions within his political base over his deportation strategy. Trump also told Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey "quiet, piggy!" after she questioned him about the Epstein files. In another confrontation, the president called 60 Minutes correspondent Norah O'Donnell a 'disgrace' after she raised questions about his connections to Jeffrey Epstein during an interview.