NCS journalist Kaitlan Collins responded to criticism from President Donald Trump at Friday’s rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Dinner by sharing a message from Eleanor Roosevelt on social media.
Collins, an Alabama native who acquired the 2026 WHCA award for broadcast protection, posted on Instagram Saturday afternoon with the previous first woman’s well-known quote:
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
The award acknowledged her reporting on Trump’s contentious assembly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in February 2025, based on Variety.
During his dinner speech Friday, Trump singled out Collins after congratulating her on the award.
“It was all about me. It’s a fake. She shouldn’t get the award. It was a fake, but I didn’t mind,” Trump stated.
The president then criticized her demeanor, telling the gathering, “She never smiles. I said, ‘Kaitlan, do you ever smile?’ Smile. You have a nice position. You’re at NCS fake news. You should be a happy person. So smile, Kaitlan. Just smile.”
Trump additionally made a reference to transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, saying Collins had signed “a major new sponsorship. But then I informed her that it wasn’t her on the Bud Light can. It was Dylan Mulvaney.”
Mulvaney endorsed the beer in 2023 in a marketing campaign that resulted in backlash and declining sales.
NCS’s Wolf Blitzer, who offered Collins with the award, could possibly be seen on video watching the change from throughout the desk.
In her Instagram submit, Collins wrote that “the second best part of last night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner was receiving an award from my friend and mentor, [Wolf Blitzer.]”
She added that “the first was reminding everyone why the First Amendment—and asking uncomfortable questions that people in power don’t like—matters.”
NCS CEO Mark Thompson issued an announcement late Friday defending Collins and different reporters Trump talked about.
“We stand by our journalists and the integrity and fair-mindedness with which the NCS team reports the news,” Thompson stated on X.
“Honest, accurate journalism may sometimes irritate politicians, but our right to report and present that reporting to the public without government interference is fully protected by the U.S. Constitution.”
Collins’ Instagram submit acquired greater than 100,000 likes and 4,000 feedback inside hours, with the overwhelming majority supporting the journalist.
Collins informed The New York Times’ Shawn McCreesh that observers have acknowledged variations in Trump’s remedy of female and male journalists.
She has beforehand stated she believes she attracts the president’s consideration as a result of he doesn’t like her questions.
“Well, I don’t think the president likes tough questions from anyone, and he’s threatened a lot of our colleagues who are men, like Jonathan Karl and Peter Alexander,” Collins informed McCreesh.
Heather Gann; al.com; (TNS) || ©2026 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit al.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.