Democratic New Jersey Senator Cory Booker has slammed Donald Trump’s behavior towards Kaitlan Collins while speaking to the CNN star after her latest run-in with the president.
CNN was included in Trump’s media ban that was announced last Friday, with the 80-year-old claiming they were “fake news.” He also banned MS NOW and Politico, and all three organizations subsequently took legal action against the president over violating the First Amendment.
Collins encountered Trump in person on Tuesday while covering the United Nations in New York.
As he walked towards the assembled media, Collins asked Trump about polling that said the majority of Americans don’t believe he is winning his war against Iran.
Trump avoided the question. “It’s an honor to be here, I’m surprised CNN is here covering me, you shouldn’t be here.”
Collins told the senior president, “The United Nations allowed us in, sir.”
He repeated, “You should not be here covering me. You said you weren’t going to cover me, you shouldn’t be covering me.”
As Collins continued to ask him a question, Trump put his hand up towards her and said to other reporters, “We’re making a lot of progress, our country is doing really, really well,” before walking away from the press with his wife Melania.
Collins had earlier referenced the encounter during an appearance on Anderson Cooper 360°.
“The president himself there was saying something that CNN has never asserted about not covering him. We’ve never said that,” Collins told Cooper. “The president is the one who’s trying to dictate how we cover him,” she pointed out. “And of course, it is still our job to do so.”
Collins invited Booker onto The Source on Tuesday, and began by asking him about the president’s earlier comments on how he may need to “annihilate” Iran.
However, the New Jersey Democrat instantly referenced Trump’s comments to Collins earlier that day.
“First of all I just want to say, the way the president disrespected you should outrage all Americans,” Booker said.
Referencing rival media outlets refusing to cover Trump out of solidarity with the outlets he banned, Booker added, “It’s been this unifying moment where you see press from every background from Fox News on the right to MS NOW, all condemning what this president is doing with the press.”
After calling out Trump’s war on “this precious, sacred part of our First Amendment,” Booker told Collins, “Consider this a unifying thing for our country to see so many people coming together in defense of CNN and frankly, the kind of treatment that you endured today.”
Collins responded to Booker’s comments by stating, “Obviously we do appreciate the solidarity from our colleagues.”
She added, “I think the point we’ve made during this is that if it can happen to CNN, it can happen to any other outlet.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
Collins also went on CNN to discuss the incident soon after it happened, saying Trump “briefly came over to speak to the reporters—who, I should note, are here because we are credentialed by the United Nations while being blocked by the White House from covering the president.”
Trump has a history of addressing Collins while she is attempting to do her job.
In February, when she was in the White House asking him about the Epstein files and the Trump administration’s accountability for survivors, he told her she was “the worst reporter.”
He then added, “She’s a young woman. 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 a smile on your face.”
The president again commented on Collins’ demeanor during July’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner speeca, stating “You have a nice position; you’re at CNN fake news. You should be a happy person. So smile, Kaitlan! Just smile.”
