The award-winning reporter living rent-free in Donald Trump's brain
Donald Trump gave a long, rambling and unfunny speech at this year’s White House Correspondents Dinner, singling out one particular female journalist for criticism and comments laced with misogyny.
Listen to this article
What’s the story?
At this year's White House Correspondents dinner, CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins won an award for excellence in presidential news coverage under deadline pressure.
Few White House reporters have faced the pressure of dealing with Trump more than Collins. She has been routinely ignored and insulted during her career, having been called "stupid and nasty", and "a stupid person" by the president.
And Trump wasn't going to let the experienced reporter enjoy her moment at the correspondents dinner either.
At an event Jon Sopel says is meant to be a "good-humoured, light-hearted, and warm", where the press and the president poke fun at each other, Trump instead turned the misogyny on Collins.
After claiming she didn't deserve the award, he then called her reporting "fake" – a Trump favourite – and commented on her appearance and demeanour.
"She's a young, attractive woman. She never smiles," said Trump to zero laughter or applause.
"I said, Kaitlan, do you ever smile? Smile. You have a nice position. You're at CNN fake news. You should be a happy person. So smile, Kaitlan. Just smile."
Jon experienced Trump's dislike of Collins first-hand during his first term, when he also worked in the White House press room, and a press officer tried to move him to the front row, to take her place in Trump's direct line of sight.
"They wanted us to take Kaitlan Collins' seat so that she would be in the back row," he says.
"We just said, ‘No, we're going to stay here. We're not going to be part of some White House op'."