CNN host Kaitlan Collins appeared visibly emotional when Stephen Colbert’s comment about her “objectivity” drew laughter from his audience.
The 32-year-old journalist accidentally became the target of the Late Show host after he said CNN “reports the news as it is.” Colbert admitted it wasn’t meant as a joke.
But Colbert’s audience clearly saw the humor in it, as they erupted in hysterics when he said, “I know you guys are objective (at CNN).”
“Is that supposed to be a joke?” Collins replied, to which Colbert replied, “It wasn’t meant to be… but I think it is.”
CNN host Kaitlan Collins weighed in on the U.S. presidential election Monday night during an appearance on Stephen Colbert’s talk show
Collins responded after Colbert’s audience laughed when he said CNN would be “objective” and “report the news as it is”
Collins made the unintentional dig while discussing the state of the US presidential election on Monday night.
Collins said Donald Trump’s campaign was derailed by President Biden’s withdrawal from the race and his replacement by Kamala Harris, which she said “put him on the back foot.”
“He doesn’t really know how to handle Vice President Harris,” she continued.
“He knew his attack strategies on President Biden, but he found it difficult to take on someone who is 20 years younger, a different gender, a different race.
“It’s a moment where he can’t rally around a single line of attack.”
While Collins’ perspective on the race aligns with that of many pundits in recent weeks — particularly following Trump’s comments about Harris “becoming a black person” for political gain — the suggestion that CNN is “objective” prompted laughter.
The suggestion that CNN is “objective” in its news gathering drew laughter on Colbert’s late night show
Collins has risen rapidly within CNN in recent years, becoming the network’s permanent host last summer.
But during that time, she had already faced criticism from conservatives who questioned her reporting, including during a particularly heated meeting with Donald Trump last May.
Trump called her a “mean person” after questioning him about why he took classified documents to Mar-a-Lago.
She was also once barred from a Trump administration press conference after asking “inappropriate” questions to the then-president in 2021.
After her clash with Trump at the May rally, it was conservative commentator Megyn Kelly who led the criticism, calling Trump a “wreck” who was “ill-equipped” to deal with the former president.
Collins’ objectivity was also questioned by critics earlier this year, when some viewers accused her of smirking on the radio after Trump was found guilty of 34 felonies.