CNN reporter says the White House retaliated against her for asking Trump about Putin, Cohen


CNN White House reporter Kaitlan Collins was banned from attending an event in the Rose Garden on Wednesday, after she asked President Trump questions about his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Collins was the pool reporter, meaning she represented all of the networks during a brief photo opportunity in the Oval Office. Trump was there with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, and not knowing if there would be an opportunity to ask Trump questions later in the day, Collins inquired about Putin not coming to Washington this fall and if he felt Cohen betrayed him by secretly taping at least one of their conversations. Trump didn't answer.
The White House then announced that the press was invited to the Rose Garden, where Trump and Juncker would speak, but Collins was told by White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Bill Shine, the new deputy chief of staff for communications, that she was not invited. Collins told CNN's Brian Stelter they said the questions she asked were "inappropriate for that venue," and that she had been shouting. Collins said she told them she was being banned because "you don't like the questions I asked," and they responded that her network wasn't banned, "but you are not invited to the Rose Garden today."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sanders confirmed this, saying in a statement that Collins "shouted questions and refused to leave despite repeatedly being asked to do so. To be clear, we support a free press and ask that everyone be respectful of the presidency and guests at the White House." Other reporters and networks, including Shine's former employer, Fox News, are standing behind Collins, who said she was shocked by what happened. "I'm from Alabama, I'm not rude," she told Stelter. "I believe you should always be polite when you ask a question. I totally believe that."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
June 29 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include the AI genie, Iran saving face, and bad language bombs
-
A tall ship adventure in the Mediterranean
The Week Recommends Sailing aboard this schooner and exploring Portugal, Spain and Monaco is a 'magical' experience
-
How drone warfare works
The Explainer From Ukraine to Iran, it has become clear that unmanned aircraft are rapidly revolutionising modern warfare
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders
-
Mamdani upsets Cuomo in NYC mayoral primary
Speed Read Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani beat out Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary
-
Supreme Court clears third-country deportations
Speed Read The court allowed Trump to temporarily resume deporting migrants to countries they aren't from