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- Donald Trump called CNN host Kaitlan Collins “stupid and nasty” after she reported on his White House ballroom construction project.
- The president said the ballroom will now be “double the size” of what it was in the original plans.
- He also reiterated his claim that the project will be “fully paid for by private donations.”
Donald Trump is lashing out at another female journalist.
The commander in chief slammed CNN’s Kaitlan Collins in a lengthy tirade on Truth Social on Saturday after she reported on his White House ballroom construction project.
On Thursday, Collins reported that Trump “clashed with the original architect” of the project and said “the size and the cost of this ballroom have ballooned.” (The New York Times recently reported that the ballroom’s cost has risen from $200 million to $300 million, and that the president hired a new architect for the job.)
Trump responded to the Source With Kaitlan Collins host’s claims about the project in his post, which misspelled her name. “Caitlin Collin’s of Fake News CNN, always Stupid and Nasty, asked me why the new Ballroom was costing more money than originally thought one year ago,” he began. “I said because it is going to be double the size, and the quality of finishes and interiors has been brought to the highest level.”
The president went on to claim that “the column SPAN has been substantially increased for purposes of viewing” and that, overall, the project “is actually under budget and ahead of schedule, as my jobs always are.”
Kent Nishimura/Getty
Trump added that the project is now “much bigger and more beautiful than originally planned.”
He also reiterated his claim that “there are no taxpayer dollars involved” in the project, and that “it is being fully paid for by private donations,” which Collins also reported on Thursday’s broadcast.
The former Apprentice star ended his post with several jabs at Collins’ employers. “FAKE NEWS CNN, and the guy who runs the whole corrupt operation that owns it, is one of the worst in the business,” he wrote. “Their ratings are so low that they’re not even counted or relevant anymore. MAGA!!!”
Representatives for CNN and Collins declined to comment to Entertainment Weekly on Trump’s social post.
Collins is the latest in a series of female journalists that Trump has called out in recent weeks. In November, when Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey inquired about the Epstein files, the president responded“Quiet, piggy.”
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The next week, Trump called The New York Times‘ Katie Rogers “a third-rate reporter who is ugly, both inside and out.”
A day later, when CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes asked about the National Guard shooting near the White House, Trump fired back“Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person?”