Few journalists have attracted President Donald Trump’s sustained anger as consistently as Kaitlan Collins.
Trump first barred Collins from a White House event in 2018 after she repeatedly questioned him about Russian President Vladimir Putin and Michael Cohen, his former personal attorney. Their conflict became even more public years later, when Trump called her a “nasty person” during a heated CNN town hall in 2023.
Now, the president has intensified the long-running dispute by excluding Collins and her employer, CNN, along with Politico and MS NOW, from the White House.
In public, Collins—34 and reportedly earning an eye-watering $3 million a year as host of CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins—has maintained her trademark composure.
Behind the scenes, however, the journalist is said to be furious. At the same time, she and CNN executives recognize that the extraordinary snub could create a major opportunity.
“This is annoying and, of course, everyone is mad, especially Kaitlan. I don’t want to sound too cynical or opportunistic, but this is also a gift and everyone knows it,” one CNN producer told Our News Outlet.
“The bosses know it, Kaitlan knows it. This makes her relevant. It’s getting her name out there in a way no one else can.”
According to the source, CNN can now promote a powerful narrative: Collins had provoked the president to such an extent that the White House felt compelled to remove her.
Kaitlan Collins, 34, joined CNN in 2017 and has covered both of President Trump’s administrations for the network.
CNN weighs how to capitalize on Collins spotlight
“That’s an ad right there,” the producer said. “She’s now the biggest star at CNN, at least for this week.”
CNN has publicly maintained that Collins was unfairly excluded, a position also supported by rival news organizations. But Our News Outlet has learned that executives are privately discussing how to make the most of the heightened attention.
“She didn’t want this, but it happened,” the producer said.
“Now the conversation is: What do we do with it? How do we leverage it? It could mean a bigger show, a better show and greater visibility. The bosses are deciding what comes next.”
The Daily Mail has contacted CNN and Collins for comment.
Trump announced the extraordinary ban on Friday, accusing CNN, MS NOW and Politico of spreading “fake news.” Reporters from all three organizations were subsequently turned away from the White House, and their credentials were deactivated.
The action also removed CNN from its scheduled turn running the television press pool during Trump’s trip to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on Monday. The responsibility is traditionally shared among five networks: CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox News and CNN.
The White House television pool operates on a rotating schedule, with participating networks traveling alongside the president and sharing footage with other news organizations.
In solidarity with CNN, the four other major networks suspended their pooled coverage of the president. As a result, there was no shared video feed of events involving Trump.
The television pool networks issued a joint statement on X: “The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should reject a news organization because it objects to its reporting.”
On Monday, the press pool’s absence was evident at Trump’s ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new granite helipad on the South Lawn. The White House had to rely on its own video, while no powerful microphones were available to record the president’s remarks. The footage that was released contained no usable audio.
Trump labeled Collins a ‘nasty person’ in the years before the media ban.
Collins has been banned from the White House along with her network CNN, and other media outlets MS NOW and Politico.
CNN star addresses Trump’s White House media ban
Collins – who joined CNN in 2017 and four years later became the youngest chief White House correspondent in the network’s history – skipped her own 9pm nightly segment after Trump announced the White House media ban.
She appeared the next day on CNN to address the new restrictions, reporting that Natalie Harp, Trump’s close aide, showed the president media clips that ‘infuriated’ him and ultimately led to him banning the three news outlets.
The three organizations have since sued the administration, alleging a First Amendment violation.
‘Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference,’ the news networks said in a joint statement.
‘The government does not decide what the press reports or publishes.’
After the lawsuit was confirmed, Trump issued a blistering Truth Social response.
‘The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish. It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America,’ Trump wrote on Monday morning.
‘It is corrupt, purposeful, pervasive, fully coordinated, and totally out of control. It is a threat to our National Security, and must be stopped, NOW!’
