Trump rails against CNN’s Collins and media ‘sleazebags’ over UN presence

President Trump ripped CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins on Tuesday for covering him despite banning the network along with MS NOW and Politico from the White House.

“You should not be here covering me,” Trump told the chief White House correspondent before his speech at the United Nations General Assembly after she asked when the war with Iran would end.

“You said you weren’t going to cover me,” he continued. “You shouldn’t be covering me.”

Collins later explained she was credentialed by the U.N. Following her exchange with the president, the host noted that CNN “never said we were not going to cover the president.”

“We will continue to cover the president and his speech and as he meets with world leaders today, just not with a TV camera from one of the five major networks in the room,” she added.

CNN is part of the five-network White House TV pool along with ABC News, CBS News, Fox News and NBC News. After CNN was barred from the White House grounds and unable to carry out its scheduled pool duties Monday, the other major networks suspended pool coverage in solidarity.

Trump later tore into Collins in a lengthy Truth Social post , calling her a “Third Rate ‘Reporter’” while questioning why she and other journalists from the targeted outlets were covering his New York appearance.

“All of the SLEAZEBAGS, like Third Rate ‘Reporter,’ Kaitlan Collins, of Fake News CNN, a truly unhappy person, said they weren’t going to be covering me,” he wrote late Tuesday.

“Why was she there? She’s got a ‘TRUMP’ addiction, and so does CNN and MSDNC,” he continued, referring to MS NOW, formerly known as MSNBC. “They’re all sick, treasonous, and demented!”

The news organizations sued the Trump administration to restore their access, citing First Amendment violations. The case will go before U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, who was appointed by Trump during his first administration, on Wednesday afternoon.

The president signaled he expects to lose the case and deflected on whether the White House would follow the eventual ruling. The Justice Department in a late Tuesday filing argued that White House access was a “privilege” and pressed the judge to dismiss the challenge.

Kelly was the judge that oversaw a previous legal challenge brought by CNN reporter Jim Acosta after the White House revoked his access to the complex.

Trump noted this again in his Truth Social post, saying the outlets have a key advantage in the case with Kelly assigned to it.

“The ‘good news’ is that they have a great, for them, and totally disloyal Judge,” he wrote, referring to Kelly.

CNN, along with MS NOW and Politico, have still been able to cover Trump at the U.N. using credentials issued independently by the international body.