White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reminded CNN&#8217;s Kaitlan Collins that, as a reporter, it was her job to get to the bottom of things rather than to simply accept whatever party line came from the people in power.
While addressing the ongoing situation in Portland, Oregon — where Antifa rioters have squared off against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers while local police stand down and independent journalists get caught in the crossfire — Collins suggested that President Donald Trump&#8217;s plan to send in the National Guard was unnecessary.
&#8220;I spoke to the police chief of Portland last week. He said that the president&#8217;s claims just don&#8217;t match up with what&#8217;s happening on the ground,&#8221; Collins said, asking Leavitt whether she&#8217;d spoken to anyone who was in favor of a National Guard presence.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PressSec</a> smacks down Fake News <a href="https://twitter.com/kaitlancollins?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kaitlancollins</a> for denying Portland crime: &#8220;I would encourage you, as a reporter, to go on the ground and to take a look for yourself&#8230; You&#8217;re probably talking to partisan Democrat officials who are opposed to everything this President does.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/ZVjKMBooVK">pic.twitter.com/ZVjKMBooVK</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1975254876004491792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;I would encourage you, as a reporter, to go on the ground and to take a look for yourself, because there&#8217;s been many members of the press — not the press in this room but independent journalists — some of whom we&#8217;ll be inviting to the White House very soon to share their stories,&#8221; Leavitt said. &#8220;Because they have been in the middle of these riots, and they have witnessed the anarchy that is taking place night after night. It&#8217;s on video!&#8221;
&#8220;You should play it on your show — you have a great opportunity in primetime on CNN to show your audience —&#8221; Collins started to interrupt, but Leavitt kept going. &#8220;You&#8217;re probably talking to partisan Democrat officials who are opposed to everything this president does.&#8221;
She also encouraged Collins to speak to the people who live in Portland and ask them how they felt about the chaos that was unfolding on their streets every night.
&#8220;These people are not there to peacefully protest, they are there to cause mayhem and havoc,&#8221; Leavitt said of the protesters.

Media Briefing Held By White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt

‘Take A Look For Yourself’: Press Sec Challenges CNN Reporter To Actually Report

Kaitlan Collins

Karoline Leavitt

Media

National Guard

Oregon

Politics

Portland

If you watched CNN this week, you’ve probably seen clips of host Kaitlan Collins “fact-checking” Republican lawmakers on the government shutdown.
These exchanges follow the same pattern. The Republican says that Democrats shut the government down because they want to give free healthcare to illegal immigrants. Collins <a href="https://x.com/kaitlancollins/status/1973573706602652035" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tells them</a> that federal Medicaid funding can’t go to illegals. They start talking about Obamacare, and she says that illegal immigrants have <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/01/politics/video/kaitlan-collins-mike-johnson-fact-check-ldndigvid" target="_blank" rel="noopener">never been eligible</a> for Obamacare subsidies.
In all these clips, Collins seems confident while Republicans seem like they’re trying to talk their way out of the exchange. They’re making wild accusations, while she’s simply stating facts.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I questioned Speaker Mike Johnson tonight on the claim being made by Republicans that Democrats want to give free health care to “illegal aliens” in the government shutdown fight. <a href="https://t.co/sjvnQwxTKN">pic.twitter.com/sjvnQwxTKN</a>
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) <a href="https://twitter.com/kaitlancollins/status/1973210626853130329?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" async="" charset="utf-8"></script>
Here’s the problem: Collins is wrong.
Republicans seem like they’re talking in circles because this is an incredibly complex issue, and Democrats are trying to make it even more complicated. Collins, like Democrats and other members of the media, is talking about what the law says. Republicans are talking about what actually happens.
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It’s true that federal Medicaid dollars can’t go to illegals. And it’s true that illegals aren’t eligible for Obamacare subsidies. But it’s also true that federal Medicaid dollars do go to illegal immigrants, and illegal immigrants do enroll in taxpayer-subsidized Obamacare plans.
Facts are stubborn things. And the fact is that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) imposed safeguards to stop illegal immigrants from improperly accessing federal healthcare benefits. The fact is, the Democrats’ funding bill would roll back those safeguards.
That’s the shutdown fight in a nutshell. But, if you want all the facts so you can really school your liberal buddy — or if you’re a Republican congressman who just booked an interview with Kaitlan Collins — here’s a crash course in the healthcare battle that has ground Washington to a halt.
<h3>Rolling Back The Big, Beautiful Bill</h3>
The Democrat funding proposal would simultaneously repeal a number of provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that, taken together, would make it possible for illegal immigrants to get taxpayer-funded healthcare.
Democrats and the media are using this fact to their advantage. To the Chuck Schumers and Kaitlan Collinses of the world, because the Democrat funding bill, which House Republicans have named the <a href="https://appropriations.house.gov/news/press-releases/democrat-counterfeit-resolution-15-trillion-ransom-note-taxpayers">Counterfeit Resolution</a>, isn’t called “The Free Healthcare For Illegal Immigrants Act of 2025,” that must mean the bill wouldn’t let illegals get healthcare.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This is a lie. Not a single federal dollar goes to providing health insurance for undocumented immigrants. NOT. ONE. PENNY.
Republicans would rather lie and shut down the government down than protect your health care. <a href="https://t.co/yfVsFUivMy">https://t.co/yfVsFUivMy</a>
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenSchumer/status/1973174156725461480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;
Of course, that’s not how policy works. That’s not how anything works, really.
The Heritage Foundation has a <a href="https://www.heritage.org/budget-and-spending/report/yes-senate-democrats-have-shut-down-the-government-over-giving-health" target="_blank" rel="noopener">good breakdown</a> of how section 2141 of the Democrat funding bill would roll back the OBBBA’s healthcare provisions. Most importantly, the bill would allow all “qualified aliens” to apply for Medicaid — as opposed to limiting eligibility to lawful permanent residents — and once again expand the federal match rate for state Medicaid programs.
Medicaid is funded jointly by states and the federal government. For every dollar a state pays, the federal government matches it with a payment of its own. The matching rate differs by state, and under the Biden administration, it was dramatically expanded.
This is what Kaitlan Collins was referring to when she told Rep. Mike Lawler (D-NY)  that there was a difference between “state and federal dollars” when it came to giving health benefits to illegal immigrants. Her point, it seems, was that while states can spend Medicaid money on illegals, the federal government is legally barred from doing so.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
GOP Rep. Mike Lawler says he opposes the Trump administration freezing roughly $18 billion for a pair of New York City infrastructure projects amid the government shutdown. <a href="https://t.co/QoHomfBiW7">pic.twitter.com/QoHomfBiW7</a>
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) <a href="https://twitter.com/kaitlancollins/status/1973573706602652035?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;
But money is fungible — which means that, once those federal Medicaid dollars hit state bank accounts, it’s off to the races.
Just look at California, which has proudly expanded its Medicaid program to cover illegal aliens. Technically, it must cover illegal enrollees with state dollars. But California has devised a clever money laundering scheme wherein it taxes healthcare providers to fund its Medicaid program. The more it raises provider taxes, the more it gets from the federal government.
The result? Over <a href="https://paragoninstitute.org/medicaid/californias-insurance-tax-shuffle-how-federal-money-ends-up-paying-for-medicaid-for-illegal-immigrants/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$5 billion</a> in healthcare for illegal aliens.
The OBBBA repealed an emergency 90% Medicaid match rate for illegal immigrants. Democrats’ funding bill would bring it back, putting taxpayers on the hook for the majority of costs of illegals enrolled in Medicaid — a population that would swell under the bill’s expansive “qualified alien” category. After that, nothing would stop states like New York and Massachusetts from following in California’s footsteps.
<h3>The Obamacare Free-For-All</h3>
Like with Medicaid, the OBBBA tightened eligibility requirements for noncitizens applying for Obamacare premium subsidies. Like with Medicaid, the Democrats’ funding bill would roll that back.
It gets worse.
During COVID, President Joe Biden signed legislation that expanded eligibility for Obamacare subsidies to those making up to 400% above the federal poverty level. That means these taxpayer-funded subsidies, meant to help the poorest Americans afford Obamacare plans, were available to people making <a href="http://kff.org/affordable-care-act/inflation-reduction-act-health-insurance-subsidies-what-is-their-impact-and-what-would-happen-if-they-expire/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">over $100,000 a year.</a> The legislation also <a href="https://paragoninstitute.org/private-health/ghostbusting-aca-fraud-millions-who-dont-use-their-health-insurance-expose-abuse-in-the-program/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made Obamacare free</a> for people making between 100% and 150% of the federal poverty level.
Let’s set aside the fact that the federal government needs to spend billions of dollars paying for Americans to enroll in ostensibly &#8220;affordable&#8221; healthcare plans. Blowing open these doors has also led to a shocking surge in fraud.
According to the Paragon Health Institute, <a href="https://paragoninstitute.org/private-health/ghostbusting-aca-fraud-millions-who-dont-use-their-health-insurance-expose-abuse-in-the-program/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">6.4 million more people</a> qualified for free Obamacare than actually exist between 100% and 150% of the federal poverty level.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
📊 New Paragon resource: Obamacare Fraud, by the Numbers
The one-stop shop for data on improper enrollment, zero-claim enrollees, and billions in wasted subsidies.<a href="https://t.co/SbzEULJx3D">https://t.co/SbzEULJx3D</a> <a href="https://t.co/8DC5oGJjGB">pic.twitter.com/8DC5oGJjGB</a>
— Paragon Health Institute (@Paragon_Inst) <a href="https://twitter.com/Paragon_Inst/status/1973431605772558576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;
So, more than 6 million people got free healthcare for which they were not eligible. All told, improper enrollees accounted for 26% of the Obamacare population in 2025. Bizarrely, 11.7 million people enrolled in Obamacare in 2024 never made a single claim — up from 3.4 million in 2021.
Democrats say this is a result of more young, healthy Americans enrolling in Obamacare plans but not needing to go to the doctor. Experts say it’s the result of widespread fraud.
Either way, it cost taxpayers more than $35 billion last year.
<h3>Healthcare For Illegals: It&#8217;s What&#8217;s Happening</h3>
If expanding Medicaid eligibility and federal matching didn’t help illegal immigrants get taxpayer-funded healthcare, this certainly will. Tightening eligibility requirements doesn’t just save money — it makes it easier for the government to prevent fraud. When pretty much everyone’s eligible for subsidies, preventing fraud is effectively impossible.
So, to recap: the next time someone tells you federal Medicaid dollars don’t go to illegals, remind them that money is fungible. And the next time someone tells you illegals aren’t allowed to enroll in federal health insurance programs, remind them that, last year, we spent $35 billion on health insurance for ghosts.

Untitled design (48)

Yes, Democrats Want To Give Illegals Free Healthcare. Here Are The Facts.

Illegal Immigation

Medicaid

Obamacare

CNN anchors John Berman and Kaitlan Collins appeared to have trouble wrapping their brains around the Trump administration&#8217;s willingness to defend — and even embrace — a meme they described as &#8220;racist&#8221; without any apparent concern about the repercussions for doing so.
Berman raised the topic during a Wednesday conversation with Collins, noting that the meme in question — an AI-doctored video that featured House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) with a fake mustache and a sombrero — had been on full display at the White House briefing room.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins can’t believe the Trump admin is doubling down with memes and mariachi music in the WH briefing room:
“They simply don’t care about the criticism.&#8221;
Correct — and that&#8217;s exactly what’s driving the propaganda press insane. They&#8217;re powerless. <a href="https://t.co/hduEvgFT3q">pic.twitter.com/hduEvgFT3q</a>
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) <a href="https://twitter.com/WesternLensman/status/1973547503942508844?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;So we played sound from Vice President Vance not just defending that AI racist video of Minority Leader Jeffries wearing a sombrero, but also, like celebrating that video, and it was playing on a loop in the briefing room today,&#8221; Berman said, turning to Collins: &#8220;What are you hearing from the inside about that?&#8221;
Collins set the scene for Berman, saying that in addition to the video being played on a loop, the mariachi music from the video had been piped through the room&#8217;s sound system so that everyone could hear it.
&#8220;It just kind of gives you a window, John, into how they&#8217;re dealing with this,&#8221; Collins continued. &#8220;And how they believe they have the upper hand when it comes to the messaging here and also kind of how things have changed from the first time Donald Trump was in office.&#8221;
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&#8220;I mean, there was a shutdown then, I remember all 35 days of it, as the president said at the beginning he&#8217;d be &#8216;proud to shut the government down,&#8217; and that it ended with him obviously not getting the money for his border wall,&#8221; she added. &#8220;This time, you know, there&#8217;s a moment here, they&#8217;re being heavily criticized over this — over these posts by the president — by Democrats, and instead of backing off or apologizing for it, they&#8217;re leaning into it. They&#8217;re playing the music over loudspeakers and on repeat inside the briefing room because they simply don&#8217;t care about that criticism.&#8221;
Vice President JD Vance, when asked about the memes, gave his word that the sombrero memes would stop if and when Jeffries helped put an end to the government shutdown, which was triggered on Tuesday when Democrats refused to vote for a stopgap funding measure unless they got certain concessions.

The 2024 BAFTA NYC Tea Party Presented By Delta Air Lines, Virgin Atlantic, And FIJI Water Sponsored By Britbox, Heineken, Taittinger And The Pierre – Arrivals

CNN Is Panicking About White House Mariachi Memes

Chuck Schumer

Donald Trump

Hakeem Jeffries

Memes

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) refused to let it go when CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins claimed that no one could really speak to the motive in last week’s assassination of conservative commentator and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
Cruz joined Collins to discuss the still-unfolding case after charges were officially filed against suspected assassin Tyler Robinson, 22, and text messages between Robinson and his live-in boyfriend — who is transitioning to identify as a woman — were released to the public.
“We don&#8217;t have a motive yet. We don&#8217;t know yet. We&#8217;re waiting,” Collins said, noting that several officials have spoken about the shooting and the subsequent arrest, as well as a number of interviews with people who knew Robinson.
“Of course we know. Come on. &#8216;We don&#8217;t have a motive yet. We know we don&#8217;t have a motive yet.&#8217; Really, that&#8217;s CNN&#8217;s position? He happened to fire the gun in celebration?!” Cruz pushed back.
WATCH:
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WATCH:
CNN&#8217;s Kaitlan Collins on the Charlie Kirk assassination: &#8220;We don&#8217;t have a motive yet. We don&#8217;t know yet. We&#8217;re waiting&#8230;&#8221;
Sen. Ted Cruz: &#8220;Of course we know. Come one. &#8216;We don&#8217;t have a motive yet. We know we don&#8217;t have a motive yet.&#8217; Really, that&#8217;s CNN&#8217;s position? He… <a href="https://t.co/n2ERQpoa73">pic.twitter.com/n2ERQpoa73</a>
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveGuest/status/1968130142867189846?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Collins continued to claim that the motive was unknown, and Cruz continued to push back as the segment progressed.
“With all due respect. You know exactly what I&#8217;m saying. I&#8217;m not arguing with you politically. I&#8217;m saying that law enforcement has not put a specific motive. You know that there&#8217;s a difference of what they&#8217;re putting in a legal argument and what you&#8217;re talking about,” Collins argued.
“What you just said is false,” Cruz said, and the two continued to talk over each other before moving on to discuss political violence in more general terms.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
DA: Charlie&#8217;s killer &#8220;had started to lean more to the left, becoming more pro-gay and trans rights oriented&#8221; &amp; was dating his transgender roommate.
The killer also wrote in a message: &#8220;I had enough of his hatred. Some hatred can&#8217;t be be negotiated out.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/5A3pinqBG6">pic.twitter.com/5A3pinqBG6</a>
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveGuest/status/1968283635536277910?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
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As Cruz noted, the district attorney had said that Robinson had been radicalized with far-Left ideology. Robinson himself had allegedly told his roommate and boyfriend that he’d shot Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred. Some hatred can&#8217;t be negotiated out.”

Pam Bondi Swears In Kash Patel As FBI Director

‘That’s CNN’s Position?’: Ted Cruz Dismantles Kaitlan Collins Over Motive In Kirk Assassination

'That's CNN's Position?': Ted Cruz Dismantles Kaitlan Collins Over Motive In Kirk Assassination

assassination

Charlie Kirk

Congress

Ted Cruz

CNN’s primetime ratings on Wednesday dipped below 500,000 viewers, with less than 100,000 of those coming from the 25-54-year-old demographic.
CNN’s ratings dipped below 500,000 after 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday evening during “The Source with Kaitlan Collins,” according to <a href="https://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/wednesday-april-23-2025-evening-cable-news-ratings/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AdWeek</a>. Collins pulled 464,000 total viewers while “NewsNight with Abby Phillip” in the 10 p.m. hour followed with 459,000. &#8220;Laura Coates Live&#8221; finished off primetime’s 11 p.m. hour for CNN with 269,000.
&#8220;Anderson Cooper 360&#8221; was the only primetime CNN performance with over half-a-million viewers, pulling in 535,000.
All the network’s primetime shows failed to break 100,000 viewers for the coveted 25-54 demographic. Cooper had the best showing with 93,000, then Phillip with 90,000, then Collins with 76,000, and Coates ended the night with just 46,000 viewers in the age group.
 The new numbers are a troubling sign for the network.
“CNN&#8217;s full-scale collapse continues rapidly. It reaches a remarkable new low led by @kaitlancollins and @abbydphillip: fewer than 500,000 viewers total in prime-time! That&#8217;s almost impossible to do even if you wanted it,” independent journalist Glenn Greenwald noted. “Also, they&#8217;re well below 100k for viewers under 55.”
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CNN&#39;s full-scale collapse continues rapidly. It reaches a remarkable new low led by <a href="https://twitter.com/kaitlancollins?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kaitlancollins</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/abbydphillip?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@abbydphillip</a>: fewer than 500,000 viewers total in prime-time! That&#39;s almost impossible to do even if you wanted it.
Also, they&#39;re well below 100k for viewers under 55. <a href="https://t.co/4gG4jMWBTH">pic.twitter.com/4gG4jMWBTH</a>
&mdash; Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) <a href="https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1916501808047849477?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The best hour on CNN was still behind MSNBC’s worst hour and far below the worst hour on Fox News. “The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle” at 11 p.m. on MSNBC brought in 799,000 total viewers with 99,000 in the 25-54 demographic. Fox News’ “FOX News @ Night” with Trace Gallagher brought in over 1.5 million total viewers with 194,000 in the key demographic.
CNN has struggled with ratings for years. One week in November <a href="https://www.outkick.com/analysis/msnbc-cnn-setting-20-30-year-ratings-lows" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saw</a> the network mark its lowest-rated week since June 2001, bringing in an average of just 268,000 viewers. During the same week, Fox News averaged 1.4 million viewers.
In 2022, the failure of CNN+, the network’s shot at an online streaming service, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/24/business/media/cnn-plus-discovery-warner.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rocked</a> the outlet. Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company, invested roughly $300 million into launching the online platform and brought on big names such as Chris Wallace to sustain it, only for it to collapse shortly after launch.
Several years before that collapse of CNN+, the outlet <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/news/cnn-settles-lawsuit-brought-by-covington-catholic-student-nicholas-sandmann/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">settled</a> a $275 million lawsuit brought against it by Nicholas Sandmann, who was maligned by many in the media as a student of Covington Catholic High School in Kentucky when he was filmed in an incident with a Native American activist.

CNN Ratings Disaster: Primetime Audience Tumbles Below 500,000

Ratings

Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins made it clear that he was not going to play along when CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins tried to make his Wednesday evening interview all about the Signal chat between Trump officials that inadvertently included Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg.
Secretary Collins attempted to steer the conversation back to the VA and to issues impacting veterans, but the CNN anchor quickly made it obvious that she was not going to let go of the Signal story — so the former Georgia Congressman flipped the interview on its head and questioned her instead.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/SecVetAffairs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecVetAffairs</a> torches Fake News CNN&#39;s <a href="https://twitter.com/kaitlancollins?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kaitlancollins</a>: &quot;Since you undoubtedly don&#39;t want to talk about the VA &#8230; I would like to know why CNN is hostile to veterans — especially one in Florida, where you just had a $5 million defamation suit&#8230;&quot; <a href="https://t.co/fwnkeg10Zn">pic.twitter.com/fwnkeg10Zn</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1905077744607637576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 27, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Do you believe that a mistake was made here, though, to have this conversation, to add a reporter, and to have it on an unsupported, unclassified group setting?&#8221; the anchor asked.
&#8220;Kaitlan, as I&#8217;ve just told you, I just answered the question,&#8221; Secretary Collins replied. &#8220;I wasn&#8217;t part of it and I&#8217;m not going to speculate more than what the president has already talked about or those who have been involved have talked about — but I&#8217;d love to talk about the veterans.&#8221;
The CNN anchor would not let it go, however, and tried again: &#8220;And I do have questions about the veterans, but given what we saw with the group chat and how this was used. You are a member of the cabinet, you obviously know these other members, several of them who were in there. Is this typical for the cabinet to have conversations over Signal? Is this something that you use?&#8221;
&#8220;All right, well, Kaitlan, since you undoubtedly don&#8217;t want to talk about the VA, I have a question as VA Secretary,&#8221; Secretary Collins said. &#8220;I want to ask you, because I&#8217;ve been curious about this because my job is to take care of veterans, and I would like to know why CNN is hostile to veterans — especially one in Florida, where you just had a $5 million defamation suit taking offense at a veteran who was trying to help people. In fact, one of your employees actually said, &#8216;We&#8217;re gonna nail him.'&#8221;
&#8220;I have a question for you, Kaitlan,&#8221; Secretary Collins continued. &#8220;Is that employee still employed? Are you really concerned about veterans? So if we don&#8217;t want to talk about veterans now, you want to talk about everything else, I&#8217;d like to hear from CNN as the veterans&#8217; cabinet secretary, why CNN seems to have a problem with veterans.&#8221;
The CNN anchor would not answer his question. Instead, she tried to go back to the Signal chat again: &#8220;My question was about whether or not you, as a member of the cabinet, use this —&#8221;
She went on to claim that she did have questions regarding veterans, but Secretary Collins wasn&#8217;t buying it.
&#8220;No, Kaitlan, what you want to do is talk about a subject that I&#8217;ve already answered,&#8221; he shot back. &#8220;And if you want to continue this, like this, that&#8217;s fine, but there are VA employees that are working very hard. There are veterans who get their care from the VA and they get their benefits from the VA, and it does me no good to speculate on something that I&#8217;ve already asked and answered. So I&#8217;ve answered your question, why don&#8217;t you answer mine?&#8221;

Senate Nomination Hearing Held For Doug Collins To Be Veterans Affairs Secretary

Doug Collins Eats Kaitlan Collins’ Lunch Over Signal Chat SNAFU

Doug Collins Eats Kaitlan Collins' Lunch Over Signal Chat SNAFU

Doug Collins

Veterans Affairs (VA)

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shut down CNN&#8217;s Kaitlan Collins during Wednesday&#8217;s press briefing as she aggressively tried to ask a follow up question.
The exchange happened as Collins asked about the story The Atlantic published this week — about a Signal chat group where top Trump administration officials discussed a forthcoming strike on Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen.
&#8220;Since we have these messages released, and you said that the President has now personally reviewed them, in the chat at one point, Pete Hegseth said wrote &#8216;1415, strike drones on target,&#8217; and in all caps, he said, &#8216;this is when the first bombs will definitely drop,&#8217; does the President feel that he was misled by his national security advisors, whoever it was that told him there was no classified information in there now that he&#8217;s seen these messages?&#8221; Collins asked.
&#8220;I&#8217;ve now been asked and answered this question three times by the both of you, and I&#8217;ve given you my answer,&#8221; Leavitt responded. &#8220;The President feels the same today as he did yesterday.&#8221;
&#8220;Sorry, my follow up on what you had just said,&#8221; Collins interjected as Leavitt moved to call on another reporter.
&#8220;Kaitlin, I&#8217;m not taking your follow up,&#8221; Leavitt fired back.
Collins interrupted: &#8220;I have a follow up on something you just said though, Karoline, that&#8217;s regarding&#8211;.&#8221;
&#8220;Kaitlin I&#8217;m not taking your follow up,&#8221; Leavitt responded. &#8220;Philip, go ahead. I have called on you.&#8221;
WATCH:
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Press Secretary Leavitt spars with CNN&#39;s Kaitlan Collins. 
&quot;I&#39;m not taking your follow-up.&quot;<a href="https://t.co/q320gzu60w">pic.twitter.com/q320gzu60w</a>
&mdash; Thomas Sowell Quotes (@ThomasSowell) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThomasSowell/status/1904966884455547332?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Holds Daily Briefing

Karoline Leavitt Shuts Down CNN’s Kaitlan Collins: ‘I’m Not Taking Your Follow Up’

Pete Hegseth

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt threw a barb at CNN White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins during Monday&#8217;s press briefing over her question relating to pardons issued by President Joe Biden.
The subject came up following President Donald Trump&#8217;s declaration that he has voided pardons Biden issued during his final days in office that were allegedly signed by an autopen, and not by Biden himself.
Leavitt said that everyone was finally able to agree that Biden was &#8220;cognitively impaired.&#8221;
&#8220;I know it took people some time to finally admit that, but we all know that to be true, as evidenced by his disastrous debate performance against President Trump during the campaign,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I digress on that, but the president was raising the point that, did the president even know about these pardons? Was his legal signature used without his consent or knowledge?&#8221;
She noted that some Biden officials had expressed concern over the issue in a report from the New York Post.
&#8220;I think it&#8217;s a question that everybody in this room should be looking into, because certainly that would [be] perhaps criminal or illegal behavior if staff members were signing the President of the United States&#8217; autograph without his consent,&#8221; she said.
After a brief exchange between the two, Collins asked if there was going to be evidence that Biden was not aware that his signature was used on the pardons.
Leavitt fired back: &#8220;You&#8217;re a reporter, you should find out.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PressSec</a> on Biden&#39;s autopen pre-emptive pardons: &quot;Did the President even know about these pardons? Was his legal signature used without his consent or knowledge?&#8230; I think it&#39;s a question that everybody in this room should be looking into.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/sH5XLhng9I">pic.twitter.com/sH5XLhng9I</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1901688738620559695?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Holds Media Briefing

Karoline Leavitt Torches CNN’s Kaitlan Collins: ‘You’re A Reporter, You Should Find Out’

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), speaking of the need to cut the fraud, waste, and abuse out of Medicaid, made clear that people who took advantage of the system would be found.
Johnson spoke with CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins, who asked if people would lose their Medicaid coverage due to the Trump administration’s effort to cut spending from the federal government payroll.
&#8220;The White House has made a commitment,” Johnson stated. “The President said over and over and over we&#8217;re not going to touch Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid. We&#8217;ve made the same commitment.”
“Now, that said, what we are going to do is go into those programs, and carve out the fraud, waste and abuse, and find efficiencies,” he continued. “Couple of examples. There&#8217;s about $50 billion estimated that are lost every year in Medicaid just in fraud alone. No one is for that. We&#8217;ve got to make sure we eliminate it. We have the algorithms now to do that. We have advanced technology to find it. We need to ID, provide identification for people who are Medicaid recipients, to make sure they are not illegal aliens. That&#8217;s another big carve-out that we will make, to save a lot of money.”
Johnson stated that Democrats were lying when they said the GOP was going to cut Medicaid, prompting Collins to ask, “You say Democrats are lying, when they say you&#8217;re going to cut Medicaid. The plan that you passed does instruct the House Energy and Commerce Committee to find $880 billion in cuts, right? And so how do they get $880 billion in cuts from that committee, without touching Medicaid?”
“Because E&amp;C actually has the broadest jurisdiction of any committee in Congress,” Johnson replied. “It covers everything. Energy and Commerce, the name indicates how broad the jurisdiction is. I challenge you, or anybody on your staff, do a word search for ‘Medicaid’ on the resolution that we passed last night. You will not find it. That is not part of this equation, OK? We&#8217;re talking about finding efficiencies in every program, but not cutting benefits for people who rightly deserve that.&#8221;
“Working requirements — work requirements for Medicaid, that is something that is public opinion polls almost 90 percent,” he asserted. “You don&#8217;t want able-bodied workers on a program that is intended, for example, for single mothers with two small children [who are] just trying to make it. That&#8217;s what Medicaid is for. Not for 29-year-old males sitting on their couches playing video games.”
“We&#8217;re going to find those guys, and we&#8217;re going to send them back to work. That&#8217;s what everybody supports. That&#8217;s what the Republicans are for. And by the way, we find dignity in our work. That&#8217;s going to be good for everybody,” he concluded.
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Medicaid is for single mothers with small children who are just trying to make it.
It&#39;s not for 29-year-old males sitting on their couch playing video games. 
We&#39;re going to find those guys, and we will SEND them back to work! <a href="https://t.co/3n0egvEkxO">pic.twitter.com/3n0egvEkxO</a>
&mdash; Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerJohnson/status/1894952400693207288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 27, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Video gaming console. Man playing RPG strategy game

Speaker Johnson Gives Prime Example Of How To Reduce Fraud In Medicaid

Mike Johnson

White House Press Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/karoline-leavitt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Karoline Leavitt</a> got blunt with CNN&#8217;s Kaitlan Collins on Wednesday over her advocacy for an AP reporter who was barred from the Oval Office last night because the organization refused to acknowledge the &#8220;Gulf of America&#8221; — despite it being officially renamed.
&#8220;Which White House official made the decision to bar the AP reporter from the Oval Office and the diplomatic reception room last night?&#8221; Collins asked.
Leavitt fired back: &#8220;Well, first of all, let me just set the record straight. It is a privilege to cover this White House. It&#8217;s a privilege to be the White House press secretary, and nobody has the right to go into the Oval Office and ask the President of the United States questions. That&#8217;s an invitation that is given.&#8221;
&#8220;And there are hundreds of outlets on this campus, many of you in this room who don&#8217;t have the privilege of being part of that pool every single day and getting to ask the president questions,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;We reserve the right to decide who gets to go into the Oval Office, and you all have credentials to be here, including the Associated Press who is in this briefing room today.&#8221;
Collins suggested that it was &#8220;retaliatory in nature&#8221; to bar the reporter over the organization refusing to acknowledge reality.
&#8220;Is this setting a precedent that this White House will retaliate against reporters who don&#8217;t use the language that you guys believe reporters should use, and how does that align with the First Amendment commitment that you were just talking about?&#8221; Collins asked.
&#8220;I was very upfront in my briefing on day one, that if we feel that there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable,&#8221; Leavitt responded. &#8220;And it is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America, and I&#8217;m not sure why news outlets don&#8217;t want to call it that, but that is what it is.&#8221;
&#8220;The Secretary of Interior has made that the official designation in the geographical identification name server and Apple has recognized that, Google has recognized that, pretty much every other outlet in this room has recognized that body of water as the Gulf of America,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;And it&#8217;s very important to this administration that we get that right, not just for people here at home, but also for the rest of the world.&#8221;
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="‘It’s A Fact’: Karoline Leavitt Wrecks CNN Reporter Over AP Not Acknowledging ‘Gulf Of America’" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dQOaitmRxbY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

US-POLITICS-BRIEFING-LEAVITT

Karoline Leavitt Rips CNN Reporter Over Media’s ‘Lies’ About ‘Gulf Of America’

Gulf of America

CNN Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins said that covering President Donald Trump&#8217;s second term was causing her to skip breakfast and work weekends because the news cycle, where he was concerned, was &#8220;essentially nonstop.&#8221;
Collins made the observation during a recent appearance on NBC&#8217;s &#8220;Late Night with Seth Meyers&#8221; after he asked what it was like covering a president who often made news at such a breakneck pace.
WATCH:
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CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Says the Trump Admin is Working 7 Days/Week
“When Biden first took office in January, the New York Times wrote a story about how quiet the weekends were … Now we&#39;re back to basically where it&#39;s just essentially nonstop every day.” <a href="https://t.co/wJfa7eDogQ">pic.twitter.com/wJfa7eDogQ</a>
&mdash; Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheChiefNerd/status/1888517636012577262?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;So, you&#8217;re doing this, every day, ah, you&#8217;re in D.C.,&#8221; Meyers began. &#8220;The pace of the Trump administration seems to be moving pretty quickly. How are you holding up?&#8221;
&#8220;It is insane,&#8221; Collins replied, adding, &#8220;And I think everyone is kind of like readjusting and re-remembering what it was like four years ago, pre-four years ago.&#8221;
She went on to compare the pace of the Trump administration to that of his predecessor, former President Joe Biden — and referenced a piece published shortly after Biden took office noting the differences between the two.
&#8220;I remember when — when Biden first took office in January, The New York Times wrote this story about how quiet the weekends were, because for reporters, every weekend had been just like another — it was like a seven-day work week. And now we&#8217;re back to basically where it&#8217;s just essentially nonstop every day.&#8221;
Collins then told a personal story about how she had gotten up one morning intending to stop for a &#8220;nice little breakfast&#8221; before she had to go to work covering Trump&#8217;s White House, but after walking halfway to her destination, she&#8217;d gotten word that the president was preparing to do an early press conference.
&#8220;Halfway there, they were like, Trump&#8217;s doing a press conference in an hour, and I physically ran back home so I could change and get ready,&#8221; she said.
Biden, by comparison, spent approximately 40% of his presidency on vacation, often leaving reporters with little to cover except what he was not doing.

‘Essentially Nonstop’: CNN Correspondent Has To Skip Breakfast, Work Weekends Because Of Trump

'Essentially Nonstop': CNN Correspondent Has To Skip Breakfast, Work Weekends Because Of Trump

Joe Biden

Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) shut down CNN&#8217;s Kaitlan Collins during an interview this week after she suggested that he was not qualified to make the judgment of whether transgender individuals are capable of serving in the U.S. military.
The exchange happened Monday night on &#8220;The Source&#8221; when Collins asked Crenshaw, who served in multiple combat deployments as a Navy SEAL: &#8220;Why would you be making that decision, and not a medical professional, or someone who makes those decisions about vision, or whatever issues they evaluate, before deploying somebody?&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;m saying, by definition, if you have transitioned into a different gender, you are not meeting our medical standards,&#8221; Crenshaw responded.
Collins responded, &#8220;But that&#8217;s your opinion.&#8221;
&#8220;No, it&#8217;s not an opinion,&#8221; Crenshaw fired back. &#8220;That is a pretty easy-to-prove fact. It makes it much harder on our units to deploy. Period. Like, full stop.&#8221;
When Collins asked how there were transgender soldiers in the U.S. military right now, Crenshaw responded: &#8220;There&#8217;s a difference between identifying — like, again, look, you could show up to your job, the next day, and say that your name is now, Ken. That&#8217;s different. You can identify that way. And that was Trump&#8217;s old policy, by the way. They would allow you to serve that way.&#8221;
&#8220;But there&#8217;s a very big difference between doing that, and actually undergoing medical procedures that take you out of service,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;And yes, you call it medical leave. But that&#8217;s some pretty severe medical leave. So, why would we allow that? And then you say that you&#8217;re deployable to austere environments? No way. That&#8217;s just not true.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Kudos to <a href="https://twitter.com/DanCrenshawTX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DanCrenshawTX</a> for the SERIOUS pushback on <a href="https://twitter.com/kaitlancollins?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kaitlancollins</a> on the issues of transgender individuals serving in the military. <a href="https://t.co/UXCJ6Zfpyz">pic.twitter.com/UXCJ6Zfpyz</a>
— Justin Hart (@justin_hart) <a href="https://twitter.com/justin_hart/status/1884268198796877987?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2025</a></blockquote>

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