CNN’s Kaitlan Collins may often find herself at odds with President Donald Trump, but during a recent interview, she conceded that it was White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt who stepped in to defend her rights as a journalist.
Collins explained the situation to “Absolutely Not” podcast host Heather McMahan, which unfolded when Collins traveled with the president to Saudi Arabia. She explained that the Saudi Royal Guard attempted to bar her from attending an event with Trump, and Leavitt lobbied for her to be allowed in the room.
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CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Says Karoline Leavitt Defended Her Free Press Rights
“The Saudi Royal Guard freaked out because I dared to ask a question … and said, you can’t come into the next event … Karoline, to her credit said, no Kaitlan’s coming in with the rest of the U.S.… pic.twitter.com/uhB9al4GVX
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“When we were in Saudi Arabia, we were on a foreign trip with the president, and [Trump] came in with all the other leaders, including the Saudi Crown Prince,” Collins said, setting the scene for McMahan. “They famously do not like the media there, to put it lightly.”
“[I] shouted a question to President Trump, who had seen me when the U.S. press came in,” she continued. “He didn’t answer, which is, I mean, that’s how it works: you shout questions, they either answer or they don’t, it’s their prerogative. And then the world leaders left the room.”
That, Collins said, was when things started to get sticky for her. The Saudi Royal Guard, unaccustomed to reporters being allowed to shout questions at their leaders, attempted to bar her from entering the room ahead of the next event.
“The Saudi Royal Guard kind of freaked out because I dared to ask a question, and they’re not used to that there because they don’t have a free press,” she explained. “And so they came up, and they said, ‘Okay, well, you can’t come into the next event,’ which was like two minutes later.”
Collins said she attempted to explain “that’s not how this works,” but gained little ground with the Royal Guard.
“I could see them whispering and pointing about me,” she added. “Some of the younger White House press weren’t really sure what to do, and they went to Karoline. And, to her credit, she said, ‘No, Kaitlan’s coming in with the rest of the U.S. press’ … which I do think is important, in that moment.”
Collins noted that similar incidents had happened on foreign trips before, such as when President Trump visited the DMZ and met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
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