Kaitlan Collins Claims Trump 'Seeks Validation' From the Same Media MAGA Supporters 'Trash' — After Prez's Flurry of Insults Against Female Reporters
Kaitlan Collins shared her opinion on Trump's relationship with the media.
June 9 2026, Published 7:20 p.m. ET
CNN's Kaitlan Collins claimed Donald Trump "seeks validation" from the media, despite continuously raging against news networks and reporters, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
During a sit-down with Interview Magazine, Collins suggested the POTUS, 79, was "one way in front of the cameras," but another way entirely "when he's off the record."
'He Has Always Played the Media Game'
Donald Trump has a history of verbally attacking reporters and news networks.
"He has always played the media game," she continued. "He used to impersonate someone and call in and speak positively about himself."
Collins was referring to the allegations that Trump used to call in to the media and pretend to be his own spokesperson under names like "John Barron" and "John Miller" in the '80s and '90s. He denied the claims, but "several of Trump's top aides" told The Washington Post otherwise.
"I think his base doesn’t always realize he seeks validation from the same mainstream media they all trash," Collins added.
Kaitlan Collins said Trump 'believes he's his own best spokesperson.'
"I think he’s always felt the same about coverage, and I think there’s a reason he calls reporters or answers their calls," she continued. "He really believes he’s his own best spokesperson. The other day he joked—and I say joked because he kind of laughed, but I’m still not sure—about why he gets such bad press coverage."
As Radar previously reported, Trump quipped in March that he had "bad publicity" because White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was "doing a poor job."
Trump Calls Kaitlan Collins 'Corrupt'
Trump called Kaitlan Collins 'corrupt' and accused her of 'never' smiling in the Oval Office.
As Radar previously reported, Trump recently accused Collins of being "corrupt" and never smiling during a briefing in the Oval Office.
"Never smiles. You never-, she’s a young, beautiful woman. Never smiles, I never see a smile off her face, I see her standing there with hatred in her eyes," he said at the time. "She has hatred because we have borders, because we have a strong military, because we cut our taxes, because we do things that everybody wanted. And then we win our election in a massive landslide."
"And that’s because we’re doing the right job," The 79-year-old insisted. "And we took a detour down to Iran because we can’t let Iran have a nuclear weapon under any circumstances. We can’t let that happen. So, the reporters should be happy. They shouldn’t be unhappy. They should be very happy. Because you know what we’re doing? We’re saving our country."
Trump's Biting Remarks Toward Female Reporters
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Trump called a reporter a 'dumb person' while discussing the White House ballroom project.
This is far from the first time Trump has lashed out at women journalists over the years.
Last November, he infamously called a female journalist "piggy" and told her to be "quiet," while talking with the media aboard Air Force One.
In May, he got into a back-and-forth after a female reporter alleged the price for the White House ballroom project had "doubled," after he insisted they were "under budget."
"I doubled the size of it, you dumb person! Doubled the size," he retorted. "You are not a smart person."
