President Donald Trump called CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins a “sleazebag” in a Truth Social post published just before midnight on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, hours after he confronted her in a press line at the United Nations and told her the network had no business covering him.

“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,” Trump wrote.

“Then why were they ranting and raving like Lunatics, in the Press Area, at the United Nations? Why was she there?” he continued.

“She’s got a ‘TRUMP’ addiction, and so does CNN and MSDNC. They’re all sick, treasonous, and demented!” the president added. “The ‘good news’ is that they have a great, for them, and totally disloyal Judge.” He closed the post with “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

The insults landed at the center of an escalating fight between the president and three news organizations he has moved to shut out of the White House: CNN, MS NOW — the network he referred to in the post as “MSDNC” — and Politico, all of which have sued him over the ban.

The Press Line Confrontation

The post followed an exchange earlier on Tuesday, September 22, as Trump, 80, arrived at U.N. headquarters in New York City with First Lady Melania Trump for the United Nations General Assembly. Collins, 34, asked the president when the war with Iran would end, citing a poll indicating that two-thirds of Americans do not believe the U.S. is winning. Her question came days after the White House ban was announced.

Trump said he was surprised to see CNN there. “You should not be here covering me,” he told Collins, adding that she had said she was not going to cover him.

“The United Nations allowed us in, sir,” Collins replied. She later reiterated on X that the network was credentialed by the United Nations to cover the General Assembly.

After the exchange, Collins said CNN had never stated that it would not cover the president, and that the network would keep reporting on his speech and his meetings with world leaders — just without a television camera from one of the five major networks in the room. Appearing later on “Anderson Cooper 360°,” she said the president was the one seeking to control how he is covered, and that covering him remains the network’s job.

Credentials Pulled, Pool Coverage Halted

Trump announced on Friday, September 18, that he was barring CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, warning in a Truth Social post that other outlets would follow. A day later, on Saturday, September 19, the Secret Service revoked the press credentials of reporters from the three organizations.

The fallout reached beyond those three newsrooms. CNN shares White House television pool duties with ABC News, CBS News, Fox News and NBC News. With the network locked out of the grounds and unable to fill its scheduled pool slot on Monday, September 21, the four remaining networks halted pool coverage in solidarity.

The Lawsuit and the Judge

Trump’s swipe at a “totally disloyal Judge” pointed to the litigation the three outlets brought against him over the ban. On Monday, September 21, he posted on Truth Social criticizing the judge assigned to the case, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly of the District of Columbia, whom he put on the bench during his first term. In that post, Trump said the outlets had drawn a judge who once ruled in favor of then-CNN reporter Jim Acosta, and that his side would almost certainly appeal. Kelly earlier handled Acosta’s challenge to the Trump administration after the White House stripped the reporter of his access to the complex. As of September 23, a judge had blocked the media ban.

A Familiar Target for Trump

The president has singled out Collins repeatedly. He called her “stupid” and “nasty,” told a February news conference that he had never seen her smile, and wrote earlier this month that she is a “very dumb and unhappy fake news reporter.” In July, she was on the receiving end of another jab from him during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

CNN anchor Jake Tapper wrote on Wednesday, September 23, that he would not dignify what he described as a juvenile social media post by the president, and said Collins and her colleagues would keep doing their jobs and pressing on the subjects voters care about, among them the war in Iran and the economy.