So much for solidarity.
CNN’s chief White House correspondent was drowned out by laughter from her colleagues in the Oval Office on Thursday after her line of questioning about Russia’s war in Ukraine prompted President Trump to tear into her and the network.
Trump was fielding questions regarding his conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin when a journalist asked him if he believes Putin wanted peace. Tensions between Russia and Ukraine first exploded in 2014 and reached a climax in 2022, when Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of the country.
Trump’s statement that Putin was indeed interested in peace prompted CNN star Kaitlan Collins to fire off a quick follow-up.
“Do you trust President Putin?” Collins asked.
Seemingly put off by Collins’s question, Trump cut off the CNN news anchor and called her a friend of fomrer President Joe Biden, who he blamed for the war. Trump then insulted CNN’s “credibility.”
“I believe that, uh yeah, I believe that he would like to see something happen. I trust him on the subject. I think he’d like to see something happen. I think it could have happened a long time ago. I think Biden… number one it shouldn’t have started, but it did. And now all those cities are knocked down like demolition sites,” the president said, speaking over Collins’ follow-up question.
“All those beautiful golden towers are knocked down. There’s nothing going to replace them. But much more importantly, you lost millions of people. A lot of soldiers, but you lost millions of people. When they knocked down those cities, and they’re all laying down on the side, they’re laying down in ashes, and all crumbled up concrete, they literally look like a world-class demolition site,” Trump continued.
“And many of them, almost all of them, but many of them. And this should have been done by Biden years ago. This should have never been allowed to happen,” the president said, adding pointedly to Collins: “I know he’s a friend of yours.”
“But couldn’t Putin just withdraw his…” Collins tried to interject, ignoring his slight, but was cut off by Trump, who quipped about Biden: “He’s a friend of CNN, and that’s why nobody watches CNN anymore because they have no credibility.”
His remarks were met with laughter, leaving Collins’ questions unanswered.
