Kaitlan Collins Unbothered By Criticism After Donald Trump Town Hall | Barrett Media (2024)

Kaitlan Collins is speaking candidly for the first time since she moderated at CNN town hall event with former President Donald Trump.

During an appearance on The Axe Files podcast with CNN colleague David Axelrod, Collins said she was mostly unbothered by the reception she received for her performance during the event.

“I think that I did the best job that I could do. I spent weeks preparing for that, watched past town halls, past debates, I did my homework,” Collins said after being asked about the “unflattering” coverage surrounding her performance. “And I think when you come out of something like that…people are entitled to their own reaction to it. And we certainly saw that.”

Axelrod then asked if she had felt any of the critiques were personal in nature and whether or not they were difficult to absorb.

“My question for me at the end of the day is: Do I think that I did the best job that I can do? And how do I feel about my performance in that? And I felt like I did the best job that I could do. I went into it fully prepared. I was prepared for how he was going to respond to that and what that was going to look like. And I think that was the best that I could do. My job was to press him on those really important issues that he hasn’t been pressed on.”

The Axe Files host also asked Collins about her reaction to Trump calling her a “nasty” person, which she said she was prepared for.

“Always to women. I mean, not that he doesn’t criticize men or give them unflattering nicknames,” Collins said. “I’m very well aware of what his reactions to tough questioning often are. And I think my job is to not be deterred by that. It is really important for any reporter, but especially if you’re covering Trump, to be unflappable in that way.”

Collins was the subject of much criticism for her performance in the event. Reaction was mostly mixed along party affiliation, with conservatives lambasting the combative nature she showed with the former President, while liberals pointed to the difficult position the 31-year-old was placed in by now former CNN CEO Chris Licht.

Former CNN host Don Lemon was fired earlier this year after a series of high-profile missteps, one of which included a comment about Nikki Haley being “past her prime”. But Lemon isn’t going to show the Republican Presidential candidate grace after her recent gaffe when she didn’t offer it to him.

During a town hall event, Haley didn’t point to slavery as one of the causes of the Civil War, which was widely panned. She later attempted to clarify her statement by claiming she didn’t mention slavery because it was the “obvious” answer. However, videos uncovered have shown Haley has continually failed to point out slavery as the focal point of the conflict, claiming the war was fought over “freedom”.

In response, Lemon chastised Haley for her inability to point to the clear cause of the Civil War, and noted she fundraised off of his misstep earlier this year.

“Nikki Haley wants grace for using a poor choice of words when, after I misspoke in some comments involving her, she didn’t offer me that same grace, immediately and very publicly took me to task, and then fundraised off of it,” Lemon wrote in a post to X. “However, I’m glad she clarified what she should have said. And, In the spirit of the season, let’s see if her actions match her corrected words moving forward.

Don Lemon was fired in April days after a contentious interview with Republican Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. His firing came after he returned from a suspension after claiming Haley was “past her prime” due to being 51 years old.

CNN anchorJake Tapper, like many news media members, is reflecting on 2023 as the year ends on Sunday. Rather than talk about his experience, the host decided to spotlight his staff.

Tapper hostsThe LeadandState of the Union, and so much behind-the-scenes movement goes into helping him anchor both programs. On Thursday,Tapper went on Substackand wrote a heartfelt message to his staffers.

“So much hard work goes into every episode of The Lead — two hours every weekday — and State of the Union, one or two hours every Sunday, depending on whether we go live and do a whole new show at noon when the 9 am is scheduled to re-air,” Tapper wrote.

“Yes, some of the hard work is mine, but the lion’s share of course is that of my amazing teams, from interns to desk assistants to producers to writers to senior producers to EPs to directors to audio technicians to bookers to stage managers to make up artists.”

The CNN anchor concluded by saying that he owes a lot to his staffers for both shows, which allows him to deliver the news to the audience.

“I’m not going to list them because I don’t want the bad actors out there to pounce but to a person they are smart and lovely and kind and earnest and devoted to journalism and I am immensely in their debt,” Tapper concluded.

As 2023 ends in a few days, news media anchors are reflecting on this year’s cycle. NBC News hostLester Holtrecalled the several cities and countries the news had taken him.

Holt has been in several locations this year, from Los Angeles, CA, to Tel Aviv, Israel. While it’s his job to report and convey the news to his audience, Holt admitted that the news cycle proved to be tiresome this year.

“Reflecting on the past year, I’m reminded of how often we’ve taken Nightly News on the road, taking you to the news for big stories and interviews,” Holt said in his monologue posted on theNBC Nightly News with Lester HoltX account.

“Proximity is at the heart of journalism, and this year, I’ve anchored the broadcast from Florida to Alaska—Tehran to Los Angeles, Maine to Tel Aviv. Along the way, I’ve sat down with the leaders of Iran, the U.K., and South Korea. The unrelenting news cycle of 2023 has been, at times, exhausting.”

Whatever the location, Holt adds that he intends to continue taking his audience on the road.

“As we head into a presidential election year, we remain energized and determined to meet the moment wherever it takes us,” Holt said. “That’s who we are and what we do.”