Kaitlan Collins says Trump's insults won't distract from her reporting

CNN White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins said she was not surprised after President Donald Trump criticised her during a recent White House Correspondents' Association event, saying personal attacks have become a regular part of covering him.

Speaking to Jon Stewart on The Daily Show, Collins said the most striking part of Trump's remarks was the silence in the room, which was filled with administration officials, cabinet members and Republican allies.

At the rescheduled WHCA dinner, Trump mocked Collins while referring to her award-winning coverage of his 2025 Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Although he briefly congratulated her, he claimed the reporting was "fake" and repeated previous comments about her appearance, saying she "never smiles".

Collins told Stewart she tries not to make such moments about herself. Instead, she said she focuses on the reporting and the questions that prompted Trump's criticism, arguing that the public should pay attention to the issues being raised rather than the personal attacks.

Stewart praised Collins for remaining calm during often tense exchanges with the president.

Trump also made a joke comparing Collins to transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, which received little reaction from the audience.

Trump has frequently criticised Collins during press events. In recent months, CNN colleagues including Anderson Cooper and Wolf Blitzer have publicly defended her professionalism, with Blitzer describing her as "a true professional" following her journalism award.