He's signalling what he wants to happen next
In a White House press conference, Donald Trump turned his gaze on CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins without provocation, using gendered language to disparage her appearance and demeanor — a moment that was personal in its cruelty but structural in its meaning. Behind the insult lay a larger machinery: a $111 billion media merger that would place CNN under the influence of a Trump ally, financed in part by sovereign wealth funds from nations deeply entangled with the president's own business interests. The episode asks an old question in a new register — where does political pressure end and editorial capture begin, and who holds the line when the regulators themselves serve at the pleasure of the pressuring party.
- Trump singled out Collins in the Oval Office without being prompted, attacking her appearance and accusing her of reporting with 'hatred in her eyes' — part of a documented pattern of gendered attacks on female journalists.
- The insults were not merely personal: Trump's pivot to the Paramount-Warner Bros merger mid-attack revealed a deliberate pressure campaign on incoming CNN owner David Ellison to reshape the network's editorial direction.
- Democratic senators, led by Elizabeth Warren, sounded the alarm over $24 billion in financing from Saudi, Emirati, and Qatari sovereign wealth funds — raising national security concerns and calling for a federal foreign investment review.
- Analysts noted that the three funding nations all hold significant financial ties to Trump's family business, adding a conflict-of-interest dimension that deepens the antitrust and regulatory stakes.
- Collins remained composed throughout, corrected the record quietly, and delivered her reporting that evening without interference — while former Trump aide Sarah Matthews called her the journalist the White House feared most.
Donald Trump stood in the Oval Office on Wednesday and, without prompting, turned on CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins. She had asked nothing. He told the room she was corrupt, that she never smiled, that he saw hatred in her eyes. When she later asked about a cancelled $1.8 billion government compensation fund, he attacked her again, invoking her Alabama roots and suggesting she had betrayed a conservative past. Collins corrected him quietly: she was still from Alabama. The exchange was one more entry in a pattern — Trump had recently told a Bloomberg reporter to "quiet, piggy" — but this one carried an unusual undercurrent.
As Trump disparaged Collins, he pivoted to the pending merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery, CNN's soon-to-be parent company. The $111 billion deal has cleared shareholder approval but still requires federal sign-off. Trump has made no secret of his hope that Paramount chief David Ellison — a figure close to the president — will overhaul CNN's editorial direction once the deal closes. "Now they have new ownership so maybe it'll straighten it out," Trump said. CNN's own Brian Stelter noted the pressure campaign was unfolding in plain sight.
The merger faces scrutiny on several fronts. A California lawsuit challenges it on antitrust grounds. In Congress, Elizabeth Warren and fellow Democratic senators wrote to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent raising alarm over $24 billion in financing from sovereign wealth funds controlled by Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar — warning of potential foreign influence over a major American media conglomerate and calling for a national security review. Analysts at the Centre for American Progress added that all three funding nations hold extensive financial ties to Trump and his family, making the arrangement, in their words, "indefensible."
Collins pressed Trump on whether the compensation fund was cancelled or suspended. He said he didn't know. Acting attorney-general Todd Blanche later confirmed it would not proceed. That evening, Collins reported the story without interference. Former Trump deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews appeared on CNN to say the White House had always been more afraid of Collins than any other journalist in the room — and that what Trump had done was misogynistic, disgusting, and, troublingly, no longer surprising.
Donald Trump stood in the Oval Office on Wednesday and turned his attention to Kaitlan Collins, the CNN anchor sitting in the room. She had not asked a question. She had said nothing. But that did not stop him. "CNN is a very corrupt organisation, with a corrupt reporter standing right there," he said. "Never smiles. She's a young, beautiful woman, never smiles. I never see a smile off her face. I see her standing there with hatred in her eyes." Collins, one of the most prominent political journalists working in American television, listened without response.
When she later posed a question about a cancelled government compensation fund—a $1.8 billion programme Trump had established for people he claimed were victims of Democratic weaponisation—he attacked her again. "People like you have abused our people so badly," he said. "You should be ashamed of yourself. You used to be a conservative. She was a conservative from Alabama, can you believe it." Collins corrected him quietly: "I'm still from Alabama." The exchange was one more incident in a pattern of Trump targeting female journalists with gendered language, including a recent moment when he told a Bloomberg reporter to "quiet, piggy" as she tried to ask about Jeffrey Epstein.
But embedded in Trump's criticism of Collins was something else—a remark that revealed the political machinery turning beneath the surface. As he disparaged her reporting, he pivoted to the merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery, the company that owns CNN. The deal, valued at $111 billion, had already won shareholder approval but still required sign-off from federal regulators. Trump has made clear his hope that David Ellison, the Paramount chief and someone close to the president, will reshape CNN's editorial direction once the merger closes. "Now they have new ownership so maybe it'll straighten it out," Trump said, his words landing almost as a challenge to Ellison. "I doubt it. It's hard to straighten garbage out."
The merger is now facing serious scrutiny on multiple fronts. In California, a lawsuit claims the deal violates antitrust law by reducing competition in the media landscape. In Congress, a group of Democratic senators led by Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday raising alarm about the financing structure. The deal involves $24 billion from sovereign wealth funds controlled by Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar. Warren and her colleagues warned that this arrangement could give foreign entities access to sensitive personal data of millions of Americans and significant influence over one of the nation's largest media conglomerates. They asked Bessent to ensure the merger would be reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which examines such deals for national security risks.
Analysts at the Centre for American Progress noted another troubling dimension: the three Middle Eastern countries financing the deal have extensive business relationships with Trump's family and business interests. "The merger is indefensible on antitrust grounds alone, but the fact that it would be financed by foreign regimes with lucrative financial relationships with President Trump and his family, while being hostile to the American way of life, makes it particularly troubling," they wrote this week. CNN's own media analyst Brian Stelter observed that Trump's campaign to pressure Ellison into overhauling the network was "happening right in front of our faces."
Throughout her exchange with Trump, Collins remained composed. She pressed him on whether the compensation fund was permanently cancelled or merely suspended. The president said he did not know and would need to consult the government's lawyers. Acting attorney-general Todd Blanche later clarified that the fund would not proceed. Collins presented her reporting on the matter that evening without interference.
Sarah Matthews, who served as deputy press secretary during Trump's first administration, appeared on CNN Wednesday night to offer insight into the president's behaviour. She said Trump and then-press secretary Kayleigh McEnany had been "scared" of Collins more than any other White House journalist. "Kaitlan Collins is a very, very good reporter, she's the best at what she does, and I think that's why you see Trump go after her more ferociously than any other reporter in that room," Matthews said. She characterised his treatment of Collins as misogynistic and "disgusting," and noted that such incidents had become so routine they barely registered as news anymore.
What unfolds now is a test of regulatory will. The merger requires approval from federal authorities and international bodies. The political pressure from Trump, the national security concerns raised by Democratic lawmakers, and the antitrust questions all converge on a single decision point. Whether Ellison will reshape CNN's coverage, whether foreign money will gain influence over American media, and whether Trump's pressure campaign will succeed—these questions remain unresolved. For now, Collins continues her work, unabated.
Notable Quotes
Kaitlan Collins is a very, very good reporter, she's the best at what she does, and I think that's why you see Trump go after her more ferociously than any other reporter in that room.— Sarah Matthews, former deputy press secretary in Trump's first administration
The merger is indefensible on antitrust grounds alone, but the fact that it would be financed by foreign regimes with lucrative financial relationships with President Trump and his family makes it particularly troubling.— Michael Sozan and Andrew Miller, Centre for American Progress
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does Trump seem so focused on attacking Collins specifically? There are plenty of other journalists in the room.
According to someone who worked in his first administration, it's because she's good at her job. She asks sharp questions and doesn't back down. That scares him more than bluster or aggression.
But the merger angle—that seems like the real story here. Why is Trump talking about Ellison and CNN in the same breath as attacking a reporter?
Because he's signalling what he wants to happen. He's telling Ellison, in public, that CNN needs to change. It's pressure dressed up as criticism.
And the foreign money—the Saudi and Qatari funding—that's a separate concern from the antitrust issues?
Not entirely separate. It's all part of the same deal. You have a merger that concentrates media power, financed by foreign governments, while the president publicly pressures the new owner to reshape editorial coverage. Those things compound each other.
So Collins is caught in the middle of something much larger than a personal feud.
Exactly. She's a symbol of the kind of journalism Trump wants to eliminate. Attacking her is also a way of sending a message to whoever ends up controlling CNN about what kind of coverage he expects.
What happens if the regulators approve the merger anyway?
Then we'll see whether Ellison actually does what Trump is hinting at. That's the test—whether editorial independence survives when ownership changes and political pressure is this explicit.