BRUTAL REBUKE

CNN Star Skewers Trump After Kaitlan Collins Clash

Jake Tapper has hit back at Donald Trump after the president branded his colleague a “loser.”

CNN anchor Jake Tapper fired back at Donald Trump after the president branded his colleague Kaitlan Collins a “loser” during a fiery White House confrontation.

“There’s one person in this exchange whose behavior, hand-picked candidates, and policies were repudiated handily by voters with historical election losses coast to coast — including in Texas, Kansas, Iowa, Ohio, and Georgia — and it ain’t Kaitlan,” Tapper wrote on X.

The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.

The CNN star’s sharp response came after Trump lashed out at Collins during a press briefing alongside UFC boss Dana White on Monday, when the reporter pressed him about the impeachment effort against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over his role in Trump’s deeply unpopular war in Iran.

Rep. Thomas Massie introduced eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth that day, accusing the Pentagon chief of a range of alleged violations, including waging war against Iran without congressional authorization and failing to protect civilians. The allegations have not been adjudicated.

Collins asked Trump whether he would continue backing Hegseth if Congress impeached him.

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“Yeah, I’ll stand by him,” Trump replied, claiming the defense secretary had “won two wars”—an apparent reference to the strike on Venezuela and the Iran war, which is still ongoing.

But Collins pressed further, noting that Massie had accused Hegseth of carrying out illegal acts.

Trump promptly turned his fire on both the congressman and the journalist.

“Massie’s a loser—just like you’re a loser at CNN!” he snapped, adding: “Just like your ratings are a loser. Massie is a loser, stone cold loser.”

Trump’s attack is the latest in a growing list of clashes with female journalists who have challenged him.

He has previously admonished Collins for not smiling enough, blasted Washington Post reporter Natalie Allison for asking about fractures in his base over his deportation strategy, told Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey “quiet, piggy!” after she asked about the Epstein files, and said 60 Minutes correspondent Norah O’Donnell was a “disgrace” for bringing up his ties to Jeffrey Epstein in an interview.

His latest attack comes in the wake of the midterms, which triggered a fierce blame game within the GOP after Democrats claimed several Republican strongholds.

Trump has already begun reshaping his inner circle following the losses, ousting chief of staff Susie Wiles and replacing her with Stephen Miller.

Hegseth, meanwhile, is facing mounting speculation that he could become the administration’s next major casualty as a growing number of Republicans point to the Iran war as a key factor behind the party’s disastrous electoral performance.

Trump has nevertheless insisted he will stand by his defense secretary, who has an approval rating of -29 points.

“What about impeaching the people that ran the Vietnam War? What about impeaching the ones who ran Iraq and Afghanistan and all of these other wars?” Trump told reporters on Monday.

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“You know, we lost 18 people. Eighteen. They lost 65,000 in Vietnam. We’re in there for seven months. They’re in there for 21 years. What about impeaching those people? What about impeaching the leaders of these stupid wars that were done with nothing was gained?”

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