The president immediately recognized the CNN journalist — and made clear he was surprised to see the network covering his appearance.
‘You shouldn’t be here,’ Trump told Collins.
He then expanded on his criticism of the network.
‘It’s an honor to be here, I’m surprised that CNN is here covering me,’ Trump said as Collins questioned him on the Iran war. ‘You said you weren’t gonna cover me, you shouldn’t be covering me.’
CNN was able to cover Trump at the international gathering because media credentials for the event are issued by the United Nations, meaning the White House’s recent restrictions on the network did not extend to the U.N.
Collins continued attempting to question the president about Iran before Trump shifted his attention to what he described as progress being made by the United States.
Trump said ‘we’re making a lot of progress, our country is doing really, really well’ before ending the exchange and walking toward the building with the first lady.
But there was one more question waiting for him.
A reporter shouted to Trump about Russian President Vladimir Putin and the continuing war in Ukraine.
Trump stopped, turned around and delivered a three-word response:
‘Settle the war.’
The confrontation with Collins comes amid a much larger showdown between the Trump White House and several major news organizations.
Trump announced Friday that CNN, MS NOW and Politico would no longer have access to the White House, accusing the outlets of publishing unfair and inaccurate coverage. Reporters representing the three organizations were subsequently denied entry to White House grounds.
The media organizations responded by taking the administration to court.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a federal lawsuit Monday seeking restoration of their White House access. The organizations argue that excluding their journalists because of their reporting violates First Amendment and due process protections.
The Trump administration, meanwhile, has argued that the First Amendment protects the organizations’ ability to publish but does not automatically guarantee reporters access to White House facilities, seats in the briefing room or membership in the press pool.
The controversy has also disrupted the traditional television press pool.
After CNN was blocked from carrying out an assigned pool rotation, the major television networks participating in the White House pool suspended pooled coverage rather than replace CNN. The unusual move involved ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC.
None of that prevented CNN from showing up at the United Nations.
And Collins wasted little time trying to get answers from Trump once she had the opportunity.
The exchange came as the president began a major day of diplomacy in New York, with the conflicts involving Iran and Ukraine among the central issues facing world leaders at the General Assembly.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also signaled Tuesday that Trump remained willing to speak directly with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian if an opportunity emerged.
‘This is a president that will meet with anybody for the most part, because he believes that engaging with people is important if you’re going to solve problems,’ Rubio said on NBC’s Today show.
Rubio added:
‘It doesn’t mean you’re going to end up agreeing with them, but it’s important.’
Trump’s U.N. appearance provided the president with an international stage to defend his administration’s approach to foreign policy while confronting several major geopolitical crises.
But before the speeches and diplomatic meetings could begin, Trump’s long-running feud with CNN once again grabbed attention.
This time, the confrontation happened outside the White House grounds — where CNN still had credentials to cover the president.
And when Trump spotted Collins among the reporters waiting for him, he made his feelings unmistakably clear:
‘You shouldn’t be here.’
