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President Donald Trump on Tuesday night was still extremely irate that CNN’s Kaitlan Collins tried to ask him a question at the United Nations — after he had banned CNN (and MS NOW and Politico) from White House coverage.
In a post on his Truth Social platform just before midnight Tuesday, Trump accused the CNN anchor of having a “‘TRUMP’ addiction.”
The U.S. president wrote: “All of the SLEAZEBAGS, like Third Rate ‘Reporter,’ Kaitlan Collins, of Fake News CNN, a truly unhappy person, said they weren’t going to be covering me. Then why were they ranting and raving like Lunatics, in the Press Area, at the United Nations? Why was she there? She’s got a ‘TRUMP’ addiction, and so does CNN and MSDNC. They’re all sick, treasonous, and demented! The ‘good news’ is that they have a great, for them, and totally disloyal Judge. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
Collins was there to cover the president because that’s her job as CNN’s chief White House correspondent.
On Tuesday morning, Collins asked the president a question about Americans’ sentiment that the U.S. is not winning the war with Iran, based on new CNN polling numbers. The exchange occurred outside UN headquarters in New York, prior to Trump’s remarks to the general assembly. When Trump noticed Collins, he said, “I’m surprised that CNN is here covering me. You shouldn’t be here!” Collins replied, “The United Nations allowed us in, sir.”
Trump chastised Collins: “You should not be here covering me. You said you weren’t going to cover me. You shouldn’t be covering me.”
Trump announced last Friday (Sept. 18) that he was banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico “effective immediately” from the White House because, as he has claimed hundreds of times before about media outlets he doesn’t like, they are “fake news.”
On Monday, CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued Trump and three White House officials over his ban, alleging it violates the First Amendment and “brazenly discriminates based on editorial viewpoint.” Also Monday, in response to Trump’s ban of the news outlets, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News and Fox News — which alongside CNN provide the White House TV pool coverage — announced they were suspending coverage of the president at events because of his ban on the news outlets.
The White House TV pool consortium, which is chaired by Fox News Washington bureau chief Bryan Boughton, continued to be suspended Wednesday.
In a court filing late Tuesday, the White House — represented by the Justice Department lawyers — filed a response to the lawsuit, defending the president’s ban of the news orgs.
“Access to the White House is a privilege — not a right,” the administration’s filing said. The documents also claim that the denial of access is a “preliminary matter” and the news organizations can contest the decision until Friday.
