Pointing to Collins, he described the journalist as “a corrupt reporter standing right there, never smiles.”
“She’s a young beautiful woman. Never smiles. I never see a smile off her face,” he continued to disparage Collins. “I see her standing there with hatred in her eyes, like she has hatred, because we had 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.”
Later, Trump criticized Collins again as she questioned him over the Department of Justice reportedly scrapping a proposed $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund.
When Collins attempted to interject, Trump told her to “be quiet.”
He continued, “And you should be ashamed of yourself. You used to be a conservative. She was a conservative from Alabama, can you believe it?”
Trump previously singled out Collins in an Oval Office press briefing in February, telling her, “She’s a young woman … 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.”
At the time, Collins was quizzing Trump about the victims of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
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Collins addressed Trump’s remarks on the Tuesday, June 2, episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen.
“When he told me I should smile more when I was asking him about sexual assault victims, in that moment, I was thinking, ‘This is not going to be received well,’” she said. “I knew how other people would respond.”
She added, “I truly think, as a reporter, you shouldn’t make it about yourself. It’s about the president, about the person you’re questioning. But we’re people too.”
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