Donald Trump refuses to take questions from Kaitlan Collins during cabinet meeting: 'No, not for CNN'

Throughout the meeting, Kaitlan Collins repeatedly pressed Donald Trump on key issues like Ukraine aid but was ignored or dismissed each time
PUBLISHED JUL 9, 2025
President Donald Trump declined to answer a question from CNN’s Kaitlan Collins during a cabinet meeting (Getty Images)
President Donald Trump declined to answer a question from CNN’s Kaitlan Collins during a cabinet meeting (Getty Images)


 

WASHINGTON, DC: CNN’s Kaitlan Collins caught some verbal shrapnel flying her way during President Donald Trump's cabinet meeting on Tuesday, July 8.

As she attempted to fire off a question, Trump immediately cut her off with a blunt, "No. Not for CNN,” before turning his attention to another reporter.

Donald Trump shades CNN

Kaitlan Collins has become a go-to target for Donald Trump. He’s called her behavior “disrespectful,” her questions “biased,” and he wasn’t about to change the script on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 08: Kaitlan Collins attends the 47th Kennedy Center Honors at The Kennedy Center on December 08, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images)
Kaitlan Collins attends the 47th Kennedy Center Honors at The Kennedy Center on December 08, 2024, in Washington, DC (Paul Morigi/Getty Images)

Collins could be heard trying to shout out questions multiple times during the meeting, but the president didn’t entertain her even once.

When he did acknowledge her, it was just to shut her down again. Collins started, “Can you clear something up Mr President—” only to be met with radio silence from Trump.

She did manage to squeeze in another question about defensive weapons being sent to Ukraine. After referencing the recent pause in military aid and asking who gave the green light for it, Trump casually responded, “I don’t know, why don’t you tell me?”

But the president wasn’t done taking digs at CNN. “Fortunately, nobody watches. Is anybody watching CNN nowadays? I haven’t seen it in a long time," he said, before joking that he only tunes in “to learn from the enemy” so he can figure out “where they’re coming from.”



 

While Collins was getting the silent treatment, other reporters got to lob their questions. Trump announced that he and First Lady Melania Trump would be heading to Texas on Friday to assess the damage caused by recent flash floods.

He also reiterated a new policy move from his administration—banning Chinese nationals from owning farmland in America and rolling back some of the land that’s already been bought. China notably owns over 380,000 acres of farmland in the US, according to NPR.

Kaitlan Collins vs Donald Trump

This wasn’t the first time Kaitlan Collins found herself on the receiving end of Donald Trump’s takedowns. She’s been one of the few reporters consistently willing to press him, even when the temperature in the room rises.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the press during a Cabinet Meeting at the White House on July 08, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump discussed the recent flash flooding tragedy in Central Texas where at least 109 people have died, and other topics during the portion of the meeting that was open to members of the media. Also pictured are Attorney General Pam Bondi (L) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (C). (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the press during a Cabinet Meeting at the White House on July 08, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump discussed the recent flash flooding tragedy in Central Texas where at least 109 people have died, and other topics during the portion of the meeting that was open to members of the media. Also pictured are Attorney General Pam Bondi (L) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (C) (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Their most infamous showdown might’ve been during a CNN town hall in May 2023. Moderating the event, Collins grilled Trump on the classified documents stashed at Mar-a-Lago. As she pressed harder and attempted to "fact-check" his answers live, Trump snapped, “Are you ready? Can I talk? Do you mind?”

Collins responded, “I would like for you to answer the question. That's why I asked it.” Trump fired back with, “It’s very simple—and you are a nasty person, I’ll tell ya.” That one-liner got the crowd roaring with laughter and applause.

Recently, there was the Oval Office moment with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele. When Collins tried to ask a question about a Supreme Court ruling on a deportation case, Trump shot back, “Why don’t you just say, ‘Isn’t it wonderful that we’re keeping criminals out of our country?’” before adding, “That’s why nobody watches you anymore. You have no credibility.”

He’s also lobbed other verbal grenades at her over the years—calling one of her inquiries “not a very smart question” and brushing her off in another heated moment with, “Excuse me, I didn’t pick you.”

MORE STORIES

After likening Trump’s immigration tactics to Nazi Germany, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker denied ever comparing him to Adolf Hitler
1 day ago
Melania Trump reportedly distanced herself from President Donald Trump’s East Wing renovation, privately questioning the historic demolition, WSJ reports
1 day ago
Donald Trump expressed willingness to work with Democrats while noting that the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, has 'been terrible'
3 days ago
Trump also brought up an incident from 30 years back when Mikie Sherrill was not allowed to participate in her graduation ceremony
4 days ago
Bernie Sanders said, 'So long as we have nation-states, you’ve got to have borders. If you don’t have any borders, then you don’t have a nation'
4 days ago
John Fetterman told Sean Hannity he’s fed up with his party painting Republicans, and especially Trump, as racists, Nazis, or fascists
6 days ago
George Santos says Zohran Mamdani's takeover of City Hall would turn New York City into a 'very dangerous place'
7 days ago
Chuck Schumer said that things are getting worse every day for the American people
7 days ago
Robert De Niro said Trump 'is not going to leave the White House' and urges Americans to 'strap on their balls and do something about it'
Oct 20, 2025
The new aircraft is to be used to replace an older plane flown by Kristi Noem
Oct 20, 2025