CNN’s Kaitlan Collins brushed off President Trump’s pointed criticism on Saturday after he called her “stupid and nasty” for purportedly asking about his plans for the White House ballroom.
Collins took a screenshot of Trump’s Truth Social message, which he posted Saturday morning, and responded in an Instagram story later that day, disputing the president’s claim about the topic of her question.
“Technically, my question was about Venezuela,” Collins wrote in her story, which included the screenshot of the president’s initial post.
Trump, in his post Saturday morning, misspelled the name of the CNN anchor and chief White House correspondent, as he sharply criticized her for purportedly asking about the ballooning cost of the new White House ballroom.
“Caitlin Collin’s of Fake News CNN, always Stupid and Nasty, asked me why the new Ballroom was costing more money than originally thought one year ago,” Trump wrote.
“I said because it is going to be double the size, and the quality of finishes and interiors has been brought to the highest level. Also, the column SPAN has been substantially increased for purposes of viewing. It is actually under budget and ahead of schedule, as my jobs always are. It’s just much bigger and more beautiful than originally planned,” he continued.
Trump also reiterated that the ballroom is being “fully paid for by private donations.”
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It was not immediately clear when the line of questioning took place. The Hill has reached out to the White House for further clarification.
On Friday night, as he spoke to reporters at the Kennedy Center before he won FIFA’s inaugural peace prize, Trump was asked by Collins about the expected prize amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela.
“What would you say to people who say that prize might conflict with your pledge to strike Venezuela?” Collins said.
“Well, I think the peace prize, I mean, I settled eight wars. I don’t know that I’m getting it. I haven’t been officially noticed. I’ve been hearing about a peace prize, and I’m here to represent our country in a different sense. But I can tell you, I did settle eight wars, and we have a ninth coming, which nobody’s ever done before. But. I want to really save lives. I don’t need prizes. I need to save lives. And we’re saving a lot of lives,” Trump said in response.
