CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Seemingly Takes Dig at Trump With ‘Nasty Women’ Mug

Alyssa Norwin October 5, 2026, 1:03 pm

Kaitlan Collins and Donald Trump — Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; Alex Wong/Getty Images

What To Know

Kaitlan Collins used a mug on television that said “America Needs Nasty Women.”
The quote was seemingly a dig at Donald Trump, who has referred to her as “nasty” in the past.
Trump has made negative comments about the CNN journalist on a number of occasions.

Kaitlan Collins seemed to take a dig at Donald Trump while hosting The Source With Kaitlan Collins on October 2. She posted a clip from her CNN show where she was interviewing Alex Gibney about his Elon Musk documentary, and one of the mugs on the table in front of her read, “America Needs Nasty Women.”

Trump has publicly called Collins a number of names in recent months, and “nasty” was just one of his digs. While she didn’t confirm that the mug was a reference to Trump’s hateful rhetoric about her and other journalists, many viewers believe she was taking aim at the president.

In December 2025, Trump wrote a scathing post about Collins on Truth Social, where he called her “stupid and nasty” after she asked about how much money he was spending on a new ballroom in the White House.

Alex Gibney on his four-hour look at Elon Musk. https://t.co/YaozuKEv4t

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) October 3, 2026

More recently, Trump mentioned Collins when complaining about how he “never gets good press” in an interview with Time. “I never get fair press,” he clarified. “Doesn’t have to be good. All it has to be is fair. So at a certain point, you say, ‘What’s the purpose of like this crazy Kaitlan Collins?’ She’s a very average person. She’s the most unhappy young person I’ve ever seen.”

Collins has not been afraid to call out Trump on her talk show, and often clashes with CNN’s MAGA pundit Scott Jennings.

Trump Unleashes Wild Midnight Rant at 'Sleazebag' Kaitlan Collins & CNN

In June, Trump called CNN a “corrupt organization” and specifically called out Collins as a “corrupt reporter,” whom he said “never” smiles. “A young, beautiful woman [who] never smiles. I never see a smile off her face,” Trump complained. “I see her standing there with hatred in her eyes.”

He also referred to her as “dumb and unhappy” in another Truth Social post from September. “You would think that CNN, which is suffering terribly in the TV Ratings, would get rid of their 3rd-rate ‘anchors,’ and try to bring credibility back to their once-storied network,” he added. “It is fading FAST.”

The Source With Kaitlan Collins, Weeknights, 9/8c, CNN