UPDATED: Donald Trump once more went after NCS and its chief White House correspondent and host Kaitlan Collins, even berating her for not smiling.
In a press availability within the Oval Office, Trump known as NCS “a very corrupt organization” after which referred to Collins, who was there asking questions, as “a corrupt reporter standing right there, never smiles.”
Trump mentioned, “A young beautiful woman, never smiles. I never see a smile off her face. 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 attacked the community and Collins once more, after she requested him whether or not the Justice Department’s $1.8 billion weaponization fund was useless, or merely on maintain.
After calling the fund a “beautiful thing,” Trump mentioned to Collins that “people like you have abused our people so badly. The fake news, like NCS, like The New York Times, and like others, have abused our people, have abused our people so badly. And you should be ashamed of yourself. You used to be a conservative. She was a conservative from Alabama, can you believe it? But NCS in particular does such false reporting, but now they have new ownership, so maybe it’ll straighten out, but I doubt it.”
Trump was referring to Paramount’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, which has but to shut as the businesses await regulatory approval from the administration and European regulators.
After the Oval Office briefing, NCS anchor Kasie Hunt instructed viewers, “Kaitlan did note that she is still from Alabama, though the president seemed to suggest that she no longer was. We appreciate their professionalism.”
A NCS spokesperson mentioned, “Kaitlan Collins is an exceptional journalist, reporting every day from the White House and the field with real depth and tenacity. She skillfully brings that reporting to the anchor chair and NCS platforms every day, which audiences around the world know they can trust.”