CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins may have found a way to respond to President Donald Trump’s latest criticism. A blue mug on her desk carried a message that drew attention. The wording appeared pointed after Trump repeatedly called Collins “nasty.” Neither Collins nor Trump has explained whether the mug carried any intended message.
Kaitlan Collins appears to reference Trump with an ‘America Needs Nasty Women’ mug on her CNN desk
Collins displayed the mug during a recent episode of The Source, the CNN show she hosts. On Friday, Oct. 2, the 34-year-old journalist shared a clip of her interview with Alex Gibney, director of the Elon Musk documentary Musk, on X. The blue mug sat on Collins’ left side while a CNN coffee cup sat on her right. The mug read, “America Needs Nasty Women.”
The apparent message came soon after Trump directed another round of criticism at Collins. In a Time interview published Thursday, Oct. 1, Trump called her a “very average” person and “the most unhappy young person I’ve ever seen.” He also questioned the purpose of what he called “this crazy Kaitlan Collins.” Trump made those remarks while discussing his administration’s decision to bar journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House.
In recent months, Trump has criticized Collins and used the word “nasty” to describe her. Two weeks earlier, he called her a “sleazebag” after seeing her and CNN at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. Trump later wrote about the incident on Truth Social and questioned why CNN was covering him after his announcement about the media ban. “You shouldn’t be here covering me. You should not be here covering me,” he said.
Trump and the outlets took the dispute to court. On Thursday, Sept. 24, a federal judge ordered the administration to temporarily lift the ban after CNN, MS NOW and Politico sought a temporary restraining order. However, the outlets still could not access the White House later that day. For now, Collins has not addressed the mug, while Trump has not commented on the message.
