Trump shares bizarre CNN spoof in escalating feud with media ‘sleazebags’
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President Donald Trump shared a bizarre clip of a man dressing up as a ‘female CNN reporter’ in an escalation of his feud with the media.
The commander-in-chief posted the spoof video to his Truth Social account shortly after labeling CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins and her colleagues “sleazebags” in a tirade on his social media platform.
Both posts were uploaded amid backlash over his decision to bar CNN, MS NOW and POLITICO from the White House on Friday. Reporters from each outlet had their press badges for the presidential building taken away the following day, prompting a slew of major TV networks to pull out of White House pool duties.
Trump re-shared the video, originally uploaded to TikTok by film writer Patrick W. Cutler, late Tuesday night after spotting Collins at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.
Titled ‘Day in the life of a CNN reporter’, the video opens with Cutler lying in bed, before donning a pink dress while grinning broadly. He applies lipstick and dresses himself in a blonde wig.
“My life as someone who tells lies, all day long,” Cutler says in a voiceover. “First, I get up, then I put on my fake news outfits.
“I just can’t wait to make up a bunch of false rumors about Trump today. All right, let’s go bash Trump 24/7. Here we go!”
Trump did not caption the post when he shared it on Truth Social.
However Trump hit out against Collins and several news organizations in a separate post on Truth Social, uploaded shortly before he shared Cutler’s video.
“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,” Trump blasted. “Then why were they ranting and raving like Lunatics, in the Press Area, at the United Nations?”
“Why was she there?” he continued. “She’s got a ‘TRUMP’ addiction, and so does CNN and MSDNC. They’re all sick, treasonous, and demented!
“The ‘good news’ is that they have a great, for them, and totally disloyal Judge.”
The three outlets banned from the White House - CNN, POLITICO and MS NOW - jointly filed a federal lawsuit against Trump and three key administration officials. The lawsuit seeks to reinstate their access to the White House and claims that the president’s decision is unconstitutional.
On Truth Social, Trump has bemoaned the choice of judge in the case and suggested that he already plans to appeal.
Collins addressed Trump’s complaints while appearing on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360°on Tuesday night.
“There seems to be a reality inside the administration that this ban is not going to have legal muster and legal standing when it comes to a judge evaluating it tomorrow, and that likely things will return to the way they were before the president announced this on Friday,” she said.
Collins also responded to Trump’s claim that CNN should not be covering him.
“The president is the one who’s trying to dictate how we cover him,” Collins said. “And, of course, it is still our job to do so.”
Trump has also often criticized Collins, telling her previously to smile more and comparing her to transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney - who later said she was “incredibly honored” to be compared to Collins.
