President Donald Trump lost it at CNN’s Kaitlan Collins as she tried to ask him a question about survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in the Oval Office.
“What would you say to survivors–” Collins, 33, started to ask before the president, 79, cut her off.
“You are so bad. You know, you are the worst reporter. No wonder,” Trump ranted. “CNN has no ratings because of people like you.”
The president then turned to others in the room, which included multiple Republican lawmakers and reporters, as he kept attacking her.
“She’s a young woman. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile. I’ve known you for 10 years. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smile on your face,” Trump said.
Collins countered that she was asking a question about Epstein’s survivors, but the president kept going.
“You know why you’re not smiling? Because you know you’re not telling the truth, and you’re a very dishonest organization, and they should be ashamed of you,” the president lashed out.
Trump quickly called on another reporter without letting Collins finish asking her question.
Collins’s attempt to ask more about the survivors came after Trump indicated that everyone should move on from the Epstein files.
“A lot of women who were, are survivors of Epstein, they’re unhappy with those redactions that came out,” Collins said. “Some of them, entire witness interviews are blacked out. Do you think they should be more transparent?”
But before she could finish that question, Trump also cut in with his own claim about survivors.
“Well, they’re also unhappy with the fact that they thought they released too much. You know I heard that, and you’re telling something else,” Trump said.
Survivors have slammed the heavy redactions, but some have also raised concerns about being improperly named in the latest batch of files released by the Justice Department, when their names were supposed to be redacted.
But Trump didn’t address the impact on survivors and instead talked about himself.
“I think it’s really time for the country to get on to something else really,” Trump said. “Now that nothing came out about me other than it was a conspiracy against me, literally, by Epstein and other people.”
He repeated that he thought it was time for the country to get on to something else “like health care.”
The president was still angry at Collins as the media was ushered out of the room after he stopped answering questions. He could be heard turning to those next to him to grumble about her not smiling.
Before the president went off on Collins, he falsely claimed during his Oval Office appearance that the only mention of him in the latest files dump was that the disgraced financier conspired with journalist Michael Wolff to make him lose the election.
Trump over the weekend threatened to sue Wolff, co-host of Daily Beast podcast Inside Trump’s Head.
The files released on Friday revealed an allegation of abuse against Trump involving a 13-year-old girl. The president has long denied any wrongdoing. The White House called the accusations false.
A classified memo from 2017 included in the latest tranche of files also alleged Trump visited Epstein’s home just before announcing his bid for president. In it, the confidential source told the FBI that the pedophile was “very close to current President Donald Trump.”
Another document revealed that a one-time assistant to Epstein told the FBI that the financier introduced Trump to his wife Melania.
The post Trump Melts Down at CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Cornering Him on Epstein appeared first on The Daily Beast.
