Former US President Trump called CNN presenter Kaitlan Collins a ‘nasty person’ during a heated exchange at a town hall meeting on Wednesday night, May 10.
It is Trump’s first interview on CNN since the 2016 presidential election.
About an hour into the New Hampshire event, Collins grilled Trump over his handling of classified documents, which he defended by saying he had ‘the right’ to declassify any records.
When Collins then challenged him on why he held onto the documents despite a subpoena and requests from the National Archives, Trump lashed out.
‘Are you ready? Can I talk?’ Trump asked ‘What’s the answer?’ Collins shot back. ‘I would like you to answer the question.’ ‘It’s very simple to answer,’ Trump responded.
‘That’s why I asked it,’ Collins told him. ‘It’s very simple – you’re a nasty person, I’ll tell ya,’ Trump shot back, which sparked cheers from his supporters in the audience.
Trump continued, ‘It’s very simple. I was negotiating and we were talking to NARA – that’s Washington, to bring whatever they want.
‘They can have whatever they want. When we left Washington, we had the boxes lined up on the sidewalk outside for everybody.
‘People were taking pictures, everybody knew we were taking those boxes and the GSA – government service, the GSA was the one taking them.
‘They brought them down to Mar-a-Lago. We were negotiating with NARA. All of a sudden, they raid our house.’
Collins was unperturbed with the ‘nasty’ comment, and continued to ask him about the documents.
A number of Collins’ fellow journalists have applauded her energy as the town hall ended.
The New York Times’ Peter Baker said that she was in an impossible position but did a heroic job of fact-checking Trump throughout the town hall.
‘No easy task given how many factually untrue things he said in such a short time. Collins is a true pro and showed what a stellar journalist she is.
CNN has issued a statement about its town hall with Donald Trump, amid some harsh criticism that it gave the former president a platform to spew falsehoods.
A spokesperson said, ‘Tonight Kaitlan Collins exemplified what it means to be a world-class journalist. She asked tough, fair and revealing questions.
‘And she followed up and fact-checked President Trump in real time to arm voters with crucial information about his positions as he enters the 2024 election as the Republican frontrunner.
‘That is CNN’s role and responsibility: to get answers and hold the powerful to account.’
