UA Grad Answers Trump Insult With Eleanor Roosevelt Quote
The punch and counter-punch between President Trump and CNN's Kaitlan Collins continues. Trump once again insulted the Alabama native and University of Alabama during last week's White House Correspondents Assocation (WHCA) annual dinner at Washington D.C. Waldorf Astoria Hotel.
The president gave the CNN White House Corrrespondent and news talkshow host a backhanded complement after she was named the winner of the 2026 WHCA award for broadcast coverage of Trump's insult laden visit by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2025.
Appearring as the guest speaker at the dinner for the first time in his two terms as chief executive, Trump used her selection to continue his series of criticisms of the Prattville native.
“It was all about me. It’s a fake. She shouldn’t get the award. It was a fake, but I didn’t mind,” Trump told the near 2,000 journalists attending the dinner.
He repeated his main criticism of Collins, complaining that she never smiles. He then told her she has a nice position at CNN fake news and that should make her happy. "Kaitlan. Just smile," he urged.
Collins, whose aggressive reporting and interview style has aggitated Trump since he returned to the Oval Office, has fired back. In one jab back at Trump on Instagram, she utilized a famous quote attributed by Reader's Digest in 1940 to Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
In the post she wrote, " The second best part of last night’s White House Correspondents Dinner was receiving an award from my friend and mentor, @wolfblitzer. The first was reminding everyone why the First Amendment — and asking uncomfortable questions that people in power don’t like — matters."
Friday night's attacks on Collins followed an ongoing trend of Trump aggresively criticizing journalists that press him on issues. Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Collins when she attempts to ask follow‑up questions or presses for clarity. He has accused her of having “hatred in her eyes,” “never smiling,” and being part of a “corrupt organization,” often shifting from policy questions to personal insults.
Former aides to the president have claimed Collins' persistent style unsettles him.
More From Tuscaloosa Thread
