Jake Tapper defends Kaitlan Collins after Trump calls her ‘stupid and nasty’ over ballroom inquiry

WASHINGTON, DC: Jake Tapper defended his CNN colleague Kaitlan Collins after President Donald Trump took to his social media platform Truth Post to share a post attacking her. 

Trump had called Collins "stupid" and "nasty" for asking a question he did not like, which was about the cost of the White House construction project.

Jake Tapper insists Kaitlan Collins asked a 'legitimate question'

CNN anchor Jake Tapper quickly responded to Donald Trump's post with a defense of Kaitlan Collins on X (formerly Twitter), on Saturday, December 6, correcting the president's misspelling of her name in the process.

Tapper called Collins “nice” and “smart,” while validating that her question was legitimate.

He said the question was "a legitimate question about construction of a controversial project on White House grounds."

Tapper followed by acknowledging Trump's provided details, thanking him for the explanation. 

Jake Tapper reminds Trump if 'someone or something is irrelevant' POTUS doesn't talk about them

In his defence, Jake Tapper also took on Donald Trump's claim that CNN is "irrelevant" because it has low ratings.

He used the fact that the POOTUS publicly addressed CNN to challenge that claim, writing, "Generally speaking if someone or something is irrelevant, the President doesn't talk about them."

Although the conversation was focused on the ballroom project, Collins' last reported contact with Trump was on the red carpet at the Kennedy Center on Friday, where she challenged him on his FIFA Peace Prize and tensions with Venezuela. However, she reportedly did not inquire about the ballroom on that occasion.

Trump targets CNN and Kaitlan Collins as he explains ballroom's rising price tag

Earlier on Saturday morning, Donald Trump, through his Truth Social post, launched a fresh round of criticism against "fake news" CNN and particularly Kaitlan Collins, whose name he misspelt as "Caitlin Collin's."

His anger was over a question about his White House ballroom project costing more than initially estimated.

Trump responded to the increased cost, saying, "I said because it is going to be double the size, and the quality of finishes and interiors has been brought to the highest level. Also, the column SPAN has been substantially increased for purposes of viewing. It is actually under budget and ahead of schedule as my jobs always are."

He added, "It's just much bigger and more beautiful than originally planned. Interestingly, and seldom reported, there are no taxpayer dollars involved. It is being fully paid for by private donations."

The 79-year-old went on to criticise the network by stating, "FAKE NEWS CNN, and the guy who runs the whole corrupt operation that owns it, is one of the worst in the business. Their ratings are so low that they're not even counted or relevant anymore. MAGA!!!"

These remarks came against the backdrop that on Friday's edition of CNN's 'The Source', Collins had reported, "It comes as we know that the size and the cost of this ballroom have ballooned. Though they still maintain all of it is being paid for with private donations."