{"id":2569668,"date":"2026-02-13T11:25:01","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T16:25:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cnns-kaitlan-collins-offers-rare-praise-to-trump-administration-after-saudi-arabian-incident\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T11:27:47","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T16:27:47","slug":"cnns-kaitlan-collins-offers-rare-praise-to-trump-administration-after-saudi-arabian-incident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cnns-kaitlan-collins-offers-rare-praise-to-trump-administration-after-saudi-arabian-incident\/","title":{"rendered":"CNN&#8217;s Kaitlan Collins Offers Rare Praise to Trump Administration After Saudi Arabian Incident"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcnns-kaitlan-collins-offers-rare-praise-to-trump-administration-after-saudi-arabian-incident%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2569668&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mandalorian-fallout-accusations-of-rosario-dawson-transphobia-resurface-rumors-of-cancel-campaign\/\" title=\"\u2018Mandalorian\u2019 Fallout: Accusations Of Rosario Dawson \u2018Transphobia\u2019 Resurface, Rumors Of \u2018Cancel\u2019 Campaign\">article focuses<\/a> on CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-associated-press-cans-anti-israel-activist-following-backlash\/\" title=\"The Associated ... Cans Anti-Israel Activist Following Backlash\">rocky relationship<\/a> with the Trump administration, highlighting a tense moment abroad where Collins received support from Karoline Leavitt. It describes how Collins asked a shouted question to President Trump during a U.S. press event in Saudi Arabia, and how the Saudis reacted by barring her from the next Saudi press session. Collins says Leavitt defended her access, telling the Saudis that collins was coming in with the rest of the U.S. press, which allowed her to attend. The piece emphasizes Collins\u2019 praise for Leavitt\u2019s stand and suggests such moments are important for U.S. press presence overseas.It also notes that Collins often angers both Republicans and Democrats,referencing criticisms from figures across the political spectrum,and mentions related episodes,including a prior administration\u2019s support at the Korean DMZ. The article cites sources from Fox News and The Western Journal to illustrate these claims.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s not exactly a secret that CNN&rsquo;s Kaitlan Collins and the administration of President Donald Trump are not on the best of terms.<\/p>\n<p>(She&rsquo;s particularly adept at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-trump-hit-kaitlan-collins-possibly-truest-insult-ever-can-hear-go-even-farther-main-mic-turns-off\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">drawing the ire<\/a> of Trump himself.)<\/p>\n<p>But that frosty relationship didn&rsquo;t stop the president&rsquo;s press secretary from sticking up for Collins during a tense moment abroad.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/cnn-host-kaitlan-collins-reveals-karoline-leavitt-defended-her-press-access-saudi-arabia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fox News<\/a>, Collins spent a chunk of time during her appearance on Heather McMahan&rsquo;s &ldquo;Absolutely Not&rdquo; podcast to laud Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I asked a shouted question to President Trump, who had seen me when the U.S. press came in,&rdquo; Collins explained. &ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t answer, which is, I mean, that&rsquo;s how it works. You shout questions. They either answer or they don&rsquo;t &mdash; it&rsquo;s their prerogative. And then the world leaders left the room.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING); 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\t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>That innocuous exchange &mdash; which is rather common to anyone who&rsquo;s watched a U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >government news conference &#038;mdash<\/a>; apparently rattled the Saudis.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Saudi Royal Guard kind of freaked out because I dared to ask a question,&rdquo; Collins said. &ldquo;And they&rsquo;re not used to that there because they don&rsquo;t have a free press.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Saudis were so shaken that they would eventually tell Collins that she was not allowed to attend the next press event.<\/p>\n<p>When Collins pushed back, the Saudis doubled down on barring her.<\/p>\n<p>Enter Karoline Leavitt.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I could see them like, whispering, and pointing about me,&rdquo; Collins said. &ldquo;And some of the younger White House staff, they are with the press, weren&rsquo;t really sure what to do, and they went to Karoline and, to her credit, she said, &lsquo;No, Kaitlan&rsquo;s coming in with the rest of the U.S. press,&rsquo; and we went in,&rdquo; Collins recalled.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;And, so, it didn&rsquo;t become this huge issue.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Collins would then double down on her praise for Leavitt, citing a bit of patriotic camaraderie.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;So, to her credit, she, without a doubt, was like, &lsquo;No, you&rsquo;re coming in,&#8217;&rdquo; Collins told McMahan. &ldquo;Which I do think is important in that moment, especially when you&rsquo;re kind of the U.S. contingent abroad, and we don&rsquo;t do things like they do in Saudi Arabia.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Collins added that the previous Trump administration had similarly supported her during a visit to the Korean Demilitarized Zone.<\/p>\n<p>While Collins is often characterized as a thorn in the side of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/us-seizes-venezuelan-presidents-plane-in-escalation-of-frosty-relationship-report\/\" title=\"US Seizes Venezuelan President&#039;s Plane in &#039;Escalation&#039; of &#039;Frosty Relationship&#039;: Report\">current presidential administration &#038;mdash<\/a>; and perhaps accurately so, if you ask the president &mdash; the CNN reporter often gets under the skin of Democrats, too.<\/p>\n<p>From <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-jasmine-crockett-gets-fact-checked-kaitlan-collins-white-house-ballroom-lie\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jasmine Crockett<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-hakeem-jeffries-snaps-cnns-kaitlan-collins-repeatedly-asks-question-doesnt-want-hear\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hakeem Jeffries<\/a> to the more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-aoc-bernie-sanders-flip-cnns-kaitlan-collins-chuck-schumer-question\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">fringe-far left<\/a> of the Democratic Party, Collins has visibly annoyed all of them with her lines of questioning.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ]; 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( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s no big secret that CNN\u2019s Kaitlan Collins and President Trump\u2019s team don\u2019t see eye to eye. Yet that chilly dynamic didn\u2019t keep the White House press secretary from backing Collins during a tense moment overseas. Fox News reported that, while appearing on Heather McMahan\u2019s Absolutely Not podcast, Collins praised Karoline Leavitt. She recalled shouting a question to Trump as the U.S. press entered the room, and Trump didn\u2019t answer\u2014Collins said that\u2019s typical: you pose the questions and leaders decide whether to respond, then the world leaders leave.<\/p>\n<p>Collins described how the incident unsettled the Saudis. She said the Saudi Royal Guard \u201cfreaked out\u201d because she dared to ask a question, noting that they aren\u2019t used to a free press. The Saudis even told Collins she couldn\u2019t attend the next press event. When Collins pushed back, they doubled down by excluding her. Karoline Leavitt stepped in, Collins explained, as she saw staff whispering and pointing at her. Some younger White House aides weren\u2019t sure what to do, but Leavitt told them, effectively, that Collins would be admitted with the rest of the U.S. press, and they proceeded. Collins praised Leavitt for standing up for her and helping ensure she could participate, saying that kind of support matters when the U.S. press is abroad and not behaving like Saudi Arabia\u2019s regime. She also noted that the previous Trump administration had offered similar backing during a visit to the Korean Demilitarized Zone. <\/p>\n<p>Beyond the incident, Collins tends to irk members of both parties\u2014Republicans and Democrats alike\u2014with her interrogations, from Jasmine Crockett and Hakeem Jeffries to more fringe-left voices<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2569669,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-02-13T104941.512.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[50623,4188,5894,69735],"class_list":["post-2569668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-cnn-2","tag-media","tag-politics","tag-trump-administration-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-02-13T104941.512.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2569668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2569668"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2569668\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2569672,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2569668\/revisions\/2569672"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2569669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2569668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2569668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2569668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}