Kaitlan Collins Responds to Donald Trump Saying 'I Don’t Think I’ve Ever Seen You Smile'

Becca LongmireWed, February 18, 2026 at 3:14 PM UTC

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Kaitlan Collins; Donald Trump

Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty; Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty

CNN's Kaitlan Collins has responded to Donald Trump's comment that she never smiles after she asked him a question about what he would "say to the survivors" of Jeffrey Epstein

"I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile," Trump said to Collins in the White House on Feb. 3

Collins told The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that Trump used the comments to "deflect from the questions that we're asking" on Tuesday, Feb. 18

CNN's Kaitlan Collins has responded to Donald Trump's comment that he's never seen her smile.

Speaking on the Tuesday, Feb. 17 episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Collins, 33, was questioned about Trump's words to her in the Oval Office on Feb. 3, after she asked what he would "say to the survivors" of late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“You are the worst reporter. No wonder CNN... CNN has no ratings because of people like you," Trump, 70, responded to Collins, who is CNN's chief White House correspondent and host of The Source with Kaitlan Collins.

"You know she’s a young woman,” Trump then said in reference to Collins. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile."

"I’ve known you for 10 years, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smile on your face,” he added, as she pointed out that she was asking him about Epstein's survivors.

After the exchange made headlines, Collins told Colbert on Tuesday, “I don’t think it surprised me in the moment of the attack. I mean, the president has called me a lot of names, he’s gone after me and tried to deflect from the questions that we're asking."

Kaitlan Collins on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'

Scott Kowalchyk/CBS

"But in that moment, he is someone who is often politically savvy or tied in with what his base wants. In that moment, I was thinking if he had said that in response to a different question, I think it would have had a different reaction,” she added.

“I think a lot of women can identify with that moment and that feeling," the news anchor continued. "I think it was actually the question that is what generated so many headlines out of that. Because my question was about sexual assault survivors and it wasn’t even accusatory of the president."

“I don’t think it’s a controversial opinion that you shouldn’t smile when you’re asking questions about a sex trafficker and sexual assault victims,” she told the host.

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Colbert responded, “That’s reasonable,” as the audience applauded.

Collins admitted that she'd since been "inundated" with people, including her dad, sending her photos of her smiling.

She added that the pictures show “I do indeed smile, when it’s appropriate,” grinning at Colbert.

The White House didn't immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for comment.

Donald Trump

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Speaking about Collins earlier this month, Trump also said, “You know why you’re not smiling? Because you know you’re not telling the truth. You’re a very dishonest organization and they should be ashamed of you.”

Following the exchange, a CNN spokesperson told PEOPLE, “Kaitlan Collins is an exceptional journalist, reporting every day from the White House and the field with real depth and tenacity. She skillfully brings that reporting to the anchor chair and CNN platforms every day, which audiences around the world know they can trust.”

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Trump's attack earlier this month wasn't the first time Collins had been publicly criticized by him. In December 2025, Trump said Collins is “always stupid, and nasty" in a Truth Social post after she inquired about the controversial remodelling of the White House ballroom.

Trump has regularly insulted female reporters. In November 2025, he called CBS News' Nancy Cordes “a stupid person.” He also said The New York Times' Katie Rogers was "ugly, both inside and out," as well as telling Bloomberg's Catherine Lucey to be "quiet, piggy."

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Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”