CNN’s Kaitlan Collins appears to have taken up the role that Jim Acosta, who is no longer with the network, fulfilled during President Donald Trump’s first term: Being a rude, attention-seeking naysayer.
And Trump appeared in no mood to put up with it Thursday. In fact, he first shut her down and later suggested that she may not be all that bright.
During an Oval Office ceremony for the signing of an executive order regarding the imposition of reciprocal tariffs, Collins fired off a question before Trump opened the meeting up to questions from the reporters covering the event.
“Mr. President you won the White House, in part, because of high inflation. If your tariffs make prices go up –” Collins began, before Trump cut her off.
The president turned to her and said, “Excuse me. We haven’t asked you to speak yet, please.”
Soon thereafter, Trump invited questions from the reporters in the room, saying, “Go ahead, please.”
When Collins began to ask her question again, Trump pointed to a different correspondent, instructing him to ask his question.
The president answered that reporter’s question and one other before fielding Collins’ query.
“If prices go up, Mr. President, because of these tariffs, who do you think voters should hold responsible?” she asked.
Trump responded, saying there could be some short-term disturbance in prices, but not necessarily, and predicted that U.S. jobs will grow in large numbers.
Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on Chinese imports in 2018 during his first term, and the inflation rate when he left office in January 2021 was a low 1.4 percent
Later in Thursday’s Oval Office event, Collins asked Trump what his reaction was to Sen. Mitch McConnell being the only Republican not to vote to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the new secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
“Well, I feel sorry for Mitch. … He’s not equipped mentally. He wasn’t equipped 10 years ago, mentally, in my opinion. He had an ability to raise money, because of his position as leader, which anybody could do. You could do it, even, and that’s saying a lot,” Trump said to Collins.
Ouch!
