Donald Trump calls her “nasty.” CNN executives deem her good and name her “tenacious.” She’s Kaitlan Collins, one of many fastest-rising stars in American media. Nonetheless in her 30s, she’s already carved out a repute for no-holds-barred reporting, unflinching questions, and a fearless presence within the White Home briefing room. She’s recognized for exposing spin and reducing by political noise — but when we’re being trustworthy, there is a little bit of noise swirling round her, too.

Calling Collins a busy bee can be placing it mildly. She’s CNN’s chief White Home correspondent and the host of her personal primetime present, “The Supply.” And her colleagues rave about her grind. “Kaitlan distinguished herself by good reporting and rigorous questioning within the White Home Briefing Room,” media veteran Maggie Haberman advised Elle. “Good work stands out.” And whereas she usually clashes with others due to her reporting, Collins makes no apologies for her confrontational fashion. “It is also about calling out bulls*** when there’s bulls*** or calling out speaking factors when there are speaking factors,” she mentioned. “It is your job to push these individuals, significantly once they’re world leaders.”

With that type of work ethic, it is solely a matter of time earlier than Collins is grouped with the heavyweights of cable information. However whereas she’s constructed a profession on calling out shady conduct, her personal path hasn’t been totally spotless both.

It is arduous to not increase an eyebrow at Kaitlan Collins’ profession arc. At present, she’s one among CNN’s most recognizable faces and a pointy critic of Donald Trump — but she kickstarted her journalism profession at The Day by day Caller, the ultra-conservative information web site co-founded by none apart from Tucker Carlson. Earlier than she was sparring with politicians within the White Home briefing room, Collins was cranking out leisure listicles for the Caller — assume nude scenes from “Recreation of Thrones” and headlines about Jessica Simpson’s “curves.” Not precisely hard-hitting political journalism she’s now recognized for.

To be honest, Collins has defined that she took the chance merely to get her foot within the door. “I did not even know what The Day by day Caller was or who Tucker Carlson was, [but] I wanted a job,” she advised Elle. The Caller occurred to be hiring, and it bought her to D.C. — a spot the place politics seeps into every little thing. “You are round it a lot. You see lawmakers at eating places and at shops, and it simply turns into your life.” And to her credit score, it labored — she bought a D.C. press badge, proximity to energy, and ultimately, a promotion to cowl the early days of Trump’s presidency. “I used to be at a conservative-leaning outlet throughout the rise of Donald Trump,” she shared. “We might see the [Republican] celebration remodel from rejecting him…to embracing him… It was very illuminating.”

What’s additionally illuminating? For some time, Collins appeared lower than desperate to promote her The Day by day Caller period. A few of her early bylines mysteriously vanished —together with tales about Melania Trump’s greatest style moments and the scandalous outfits of Sasha and Malia Obama. Whether or not these have been quietly scrubbed or simply buried beneath layers of outdated CMS, although, is anybody’s guess.

Working for a conservative information outlet is one factor. Echoing a few of its extra problematic ideologies, deliberately or not, is one other. When Kaitlan Collins was already making waves at CNN, web sleuths did what they do greatest: dug by her outdated tweets. And sure, they discovered some, alright. Log Cabin Republicans on X (previously Twitter) resurfaced outdated tweets from Collins’ school days on the College of Alabama — ones that have been, to place it bluntly, homophobic.

In a single tweet from 2011, Collins casually used the slur “f*g” and made one other publish questioning whether or not she’d need to room with a lesbian. The context was murky, however the backlash wasn’t, and Collins did not deny any of it. As an alternative, she took accountability. “Once I was in school, I used ignorant language in just a few tweets to my buddies,” she wrote.” It was immature nevertheless it does not signify the way in which I really feel in any respect. I remorse it and apologize.”

It was the one time she publicly addressed the controversy, nevertheless it’s clear she’s been working to wash up her picture ever since — and show she’s not the identical school child tweeting slurs for laughs. Notably, in 2025, she went head-to-head with Donald Trump after he blamed a lethal airplane collision in Washington, D.C., on range, fairness, and inclusion (DEI) insurance policies. “Does it consolation [the victims’] household to listen to you blaming DEI insurance policies?” she requested, to which Trump responded, “I believe that is not a really sensible query. I am stunned, coming from you.”

Simply if you’d assume Kaitlan Collins can be a bit extra cautious about what she posts on-line, she stirred up contemporary controversy in February 2025, this time over a tweet involving an alleged assassin. On her X web page, Collins shared a hyperlink to a web site launched by the authorized protection workforce of Luigi Mangione, the person accused of killing a UnitedHealthcare CEO. “Luigi Mangione’s authorized protection workforce has launched a brand new web site at present.” she penned, together with a hyperlink to a web site with trial updates, lawyer bios, and statements from the suspect himself.

Unsurprisingly, the backlash was swift — and brutal. Critics accused her of basically selling a fundraiser for a killer. “@kaitlancollins is selling a fundraiser for a assassin. She shouldn’t be allowed anyplace close to President Trump or the White Home… The Secret Service ought to revoke her White Home safety clearance,” one critic tweeted. “She ought to be banned from the WH Press room till she apologizes to the sufferer’s household,” mentioned one other. What’s extra, Radar On-line additionally reported that due to the tweet, Collins discovered herself “in livid clashes with CNN bosses.”

Going through a full-blown PR nightmare — and presumably a menace to her job — Collins deleted the tweet. However true to type, she did not go quietly. “I posted that his attorneys created a web site, which is newsworthy and different shops have additionally reported on,” she wrote in a tweet. “Under no circumstances did I share a fundraising hyperlink for him.”

With Kaitlan Collins cementing her standing as one among CNN’s prime skills, it would not be surprising if she finally ends up sitting fairly subsequent to Anderson Cooper on the prime of the community’s hierarchy. She’s already shut, reportedly pulling in $3 million a 12 months as CNN’s chief White Home correspondent and the primetime anchor of “The Supply with Kaitlan Collins.” (She beforehand co-hosted “CNN This Morning” earlier than touchdown her solo slot.)

By all appearances, she’s effectively on her technique to turning into a full-blown broadcast famous person. However behind the scenes, there’s been some drama. Kristin Donnelly, the chief producer of her present— and a seasoned media veteran recognized for engaged on “Inside Politics with John King” and “The Lead with Jake Tapper” — unexpectedly left each this system and the community. In keeping with Oliver Darcy’s e-newsletter, Donnelly cited the “brutal” working hours as her cause for leaving, saying they have been “taking a toll.”

Whether or not Collins had something to do with Donnelly’s sudden departure is anybody’s guess. Formally, it is all chalked as much as burnout. However the timing? A bit of suspicious. Nonetheless, one factor’s clear: Collins is relentless. Even her friends say so. “She is whip sensible, researches relentlessly and works tirelessly. I am undecided what number of telephones she has, however there’s no less than one pressed to her ear all through the day as she checks in with sources in campaigns, Congress and courtrooms,” famous Cooper. “She’s going to outwit, outplay and outlast us all. She is that good, and he or she is simply simply getting began.”

To say Kaitlan Collins is well-connected at CNN can be an understatement. She reportedly left her job at The Day by day Caller after an informal chat with then-CNN president Jeff Zucker. She additionally appeared to be on pleasant phrases along with his successor, Chris Licht, who had grand desires of steering the community towards ideological neutrality. And whereas Collins would possibly look the a part of a balanced, straight-shooter anchor, her actions inform a distinct story.

A longtime Trump critic, Collins has by no means shied away from stirring the pot on the White Home — even when it means turning into public enemy primary. She’s gone head-to-head with Vice President JD Vance over every little thing from pro-Palestinian campus protests to the Capitol riot and Trump’s laundry listing of authorized points. She additionally managed to ruffle the feathers of press secretary Karoline Leavitt whereas digging into the Sign group chat scandal. In March 2025, Leavitt nearly misplaced it. “Kaitlan, I’m not taking your follow-up,” she snapped, shutting her down in entrance of your entire press corps.

And naturally, there’s Trump. Their lengthy, messy historical past contains barbed exchanges, a ban from the press room, and the president calling her “nasty.” Nonetheless, Collins refuses to flinch. She’s not afraid to poke the bear if it means getting the story proper. After years of run-ins with Trump, she claims to have him all found out. “[Trump is] somebody who seeks the validation of the press as a lot as he criticizes them publicly,” she advised The New Yorker. “And so, you realize, it does not actually trouble me when he will get upset at my query.”