CNN's Kaitlan Collins fired back after President Trump claimed he'd 'never seen her smile.'
On Tuesday's The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, 33-year-old Collins recalled being taunted by Trump in the Oval Office earlier this month after she asked what he would say to Jeffrey Epstein's survivors.
'You know she's a young woman,' the president told a room of Republican lawmakers and reporters, then turned to Collins directly: 'I don't think I've ever seen you smile. I've known you for 10 years, I don't think I've ever seen you smile.'
She insisted that it's hardly controversial to stay serious when asking about Epstein's sexual assault victims.
Collins said she wasn't surprised 'in the moment of attack,' as Trump regularly tries to 'deflect' from difficult questions, though she pushed back against his 'smile' jab.
'I don't think it's a controversial opinion that you shouldn't smile when you're asking questions about a sex trafficker and sexual assault victims,' she told Colbert.
The audience erupted in applause at her comment, and she added that she smiles, just 'when it's appropriate.'
She said this wasn’t the first time Trump had resorted to name-calling or 'going after' her to avoid conversations about the convicted pedophile.
'He is someone who is often politically savvy or tied in with what his base wants. In that moment, I was thinking if he had said that in response to a different question, I think it would have had a different reaction,' Collins explained.
CNN White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on February 17th, 2026
US President Donald Trump, alongside Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent (L) and Secretary of Commerce nominee Howard Lutnick (R), speaks to the press in the Oval Office
CNN White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins speaks to Stephen Colbert on February 17th, 2026
'I think a lot of women can identify with that moment and that feeling,' she added.
'I think it was actually the question that is what generated so many headlines out of that. Because my question was about sexual assault survivors and it wasn’t even accusatory of the president.'
This month's White House showdown made headlines as Collins and Trump clashed over the Epstein files, with the president describing her as 'the worst reporter' during a bill signing in the Oval Office earlier this month.
'You are the worst reporter. No wonder CNN... CNN has no ratings because of people like you,' he snapped.
Collins became a household name during Trump's first term after covering the White House for the Tucker Carlson-founded Daily Caller before getting a job at CNN.
She shot back, 'Well, I'm asking you about survivors of Epstein.'
'You know why you're not smiling?' Trump replied. 'Because you know you're not telling the truth and you're a very dishonest organization and they should be ashamed of you.'
Collins got the last word, stating, 'These are survivors of a sexual abuser,' the journalist said.
CNN's ratings have tanked from roughly 1.3 million in 2016 to 553,000 now, which is fueling rumors of a possible network sale - something CNN's up-for-grabs parent company has vehemently denied.
