Trump Mocks Kaitlan Collins with Dylan Mulvaney Jab at Press Dinner
Intra-Party Split Detected
Most right-leaning commentary (The Federalist) dismissed the outrage as overblown and defended Trump's jokes as normal roast humor, though not all conservative outlets addressed the substance the same way, with some more neutrally reporting Collins' response.
Left says
- •Trump's joke comparing Collins to Mulvaney is widely read as a transphobic jab that uses a trans woman as a punchline to demean a female journalist, reinforcing a pattern of gendered attacks on women reporters like Collins and Mary Bruce.
- •This fits a broader pattern of Trump berating female correspondents specifically, telling Collins to smile and calling her award 'fake,' language critics say he rarely directs at male reporters in the same way.
- •CNN and journalism advocates emphasize that the Constitution protects the press from government interference regardless of whether reporting 'irritates' the president.
- •Commentators note the room of mostly allies and staffers stayed notably quiet during the insults, suggesting even sympathetic audiences found the material uncomfortable rather than genuinely funny.
Right says
- •The joke is standard-issue insult comedy at an event built entirely around presidents and comedians roasting each other, a tradition running back through Reagan and Obama without similar outrage.
- •Media outrage over comparing Collins to Mulvaney is inconsistent with the left's own insistence that 'trans women are women,' since if Mulvaney is simply a woman and spokesmodel, the comparison shouldn't logically register as an insult under that framework.
- •Selective outrage is hypocritical given past liberal comedians' far harsher jokes about conservative figures, like Wanda Sykes joking about hoping Rush Limbaugh's kidneys would fail, which drew little comparable backlash.
- •Collins herself downplayed the personal sting, redirecting focus to her reporting rather than amplifying the insult, suggesting the media's outrage is overblown relative to her own reaction.
Common Take
High Consensus- Trump singled out Kaitlan Collins by name during his WHCD speech, telling her she never smiles and calling her award 'fake.'
- Trump made a joke comparing Collins' appearance to Dylan Mulvaney's 2023 Bud Light promotion, then followed up with an AI-generated image on Truth Social.
- CNN publicly defended Collins and its journalists' work in response to the president's remarks.
- The White House Correspondents' Dinner has a long-standing tradition of the president delivering jokes and insults aimed at the press corps.
The Arguments
Left argues
Trump's joke comparing Collins to Mulvaney used a trans woman as a punchline to demean a female journalist, fitting a documented pattern where Trump singles out women reporters like Collins and Mary Bruce for personal, appearance-based attacks rather than substantive criticism of their reporting.
Right counters
The White House Correspondents' Dinner is explicitly a roast format where presidents have always ribbed the press; Trump also mocked himself, male reporters like Tapper, and various institutions, so treating this one joke as uniquely gendered ignores the event's entire comedic tradition.
Right argues
If progressive media truly believes 'trans women are women' and that Mulvaney is simply a spokesmodel, then comparing Collins to Mulvaney shouldn't logically register as an insult under their own stated framework, exposing an inconsistency in the outrage.
Left counters
The insult isn't rooted in Mulvaney's womanhood being an insult per se, but in Trump's clear intent to mock and demean using transphobic framing that his audience understands as derogatory, regardless of the left's broader position on trans identity.
Right argues
Selective outrage is hypocritical given that liberal comedians have delivered far harsher material at past dinners and elsewhere, such as Wanda Sykes joking about hoping Rush Limbaugh's kidneys would fail, which drew comparatively little sustained media backlash.
Left counters
A one-off comedian's joke about a media pundit is different from a sitting president using his office and platform to repeatedly demean specific journalists by name over years, which raises distinct concerns about the powerful targeting the press that covers them.
Left argues
CNN and press advocates emphasize that regardless of whether reporting 'irritates' a president, the Constitution protects journalists from government interference, and a sitting president persistently belittling reporters by name sets a troubling tone for press freedom.
Right counters
Mocking reporters at a comedy roast is not government interference with the press; Trump explicitly stated he believes in the free press 'more than anyone in this room,' and no reporting was suppressed or punished by government action as a result of the jokes.
Left argues
The fact that a room full of Trump's own allies and staffers went notably quiet during the insults suggests even a sympathetic audience found the material uncomfortable rather than genuinely funny, undercutting the 'it's just comedy' defense.
Right counters
Awkward silence at a roast joke is common and doesn't necessarily indicate the material was inappropriate rather than simply not landing; Collins herself downplayed the sting and redirected focus to her reporting rather than treating it as a major grievance.
Challenge Questions
These questions target genuine internal contradictions — meant to provoke honest reflection.
Right asks Left
“If outlets and advocates insist 'trans women are women' as a matter of settled fact, why does comparing a female journalist to a trans woman register as an insult in your own coverage rather than a neutral or even flattering comparison?”
Left asks Right
“If insult comedy at the Correspondents' Dinner is always fair game regardless of target, would you extend that same standard of 'it's just a roast, get over it' to jokes a Democratic president or comedian made mocking a conservative public figure's appearance or personal struggles?”
Outlier Report
Left Fringe
Figures like Jeet Heer (The Nation) who frame the entire speech as 'racist, homophobic, vindictive' represent a more maximalist condemnation shared by roughly 20-25% of the left that treats every Trump joke as an existential moral outrage rather than typical political theater.
Right Fringe
Commentators like Mollie Hemingway and The Federalist's writers who argue the joke exposes hypocrisy in trans ideology itself represent a smaller, more ideologically pointed faction (~20% of the right) that uses the moment to relitigate broader culture-war arguments rather than simply defend the joke as comedy.
Noise Assessment
High — much of the intensity comes from media figures and partisan commentators (Nation writers, Federalist writers) amplifying the moment into broader ideological battles, while Collins' own muted reaction and the room's quiet response suggest the actual emotional stakes for average Americans are lower than online discourse implies.
Sources (7)
<p>President <a href="https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump" target="_blank">Trump</a> used his speech at Friday's <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/04/26/trump-evacuated-whcd-secret-service" target="_blank">rescheduled White House Correspondents' Association Dinner</a> to condemn the political violence that postponed the annual event — and in the next breath attack and insult the gathered press. </p><p><strong>The big picture: </strong>The president opened with jokes to the hundreds of assembled journalists and even made a little fun of himself, in a speech that started light — before descending into a litany of familiar complaints about reporters and prominent Democrats.</p><hr /><p><strong>Zoom out: </strong>"In America we do not yield to political violence," Trump told event attendees, referencing the gunman who <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/04/26/trump-evacuated-whcd-secret-service" target="_blank">opened fire</a> outside the ballroom where he and hundreds of others were gathered for the previously scheduled dinner in April.</p><ul><li>"In this country we believe in freedom of speech, we settle our differences not with bullets but with open and vigorous debate, and no deranged loser with a gun will ever change that. We can't let that ever happen," Trump said.</li><li>A Secret Service agent was wounded during the shooting, and the dinner was called off, though Trump insisted it be <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/04/26/trump-white-house-correspondents-dinner-reschedule" target="_blank">rescheduled</a>. </li></ul><p><strong>Zoom in: </strong>This year marked the first time that Trump has attended a White House Correspondents' Dinner as president, and he engaged in the long-standing tradition of poking fun at the media and his administration. </p><ul><li>"It's great to be back as a place (I) know very well because I built it," Trump said, referencing the Waldorf Astoria's former life as Trump International Hotel. "I'm very proud of it because I built it for $2.9 billion less than the Federal Reserve building."</li><li>"Everyone is looking really good tonight, and I know it's not easy finding shoes to match your bulletproof vest. Many people would rather die than look 20 pounds heavier, you know that, right? They put one on me. I said, 'Are you sure? I'm not wearing this.'"</li></ul><p><strong>Between the lines:</strong> The speech wasn't without barbs and airing of some familiar grievances by the president, who discussed the need for the White House ballroom, complained about performers like Bruce Springsteen and Jimmy Kimmel, and warned guests not to believe any "fake news" about Iran.</p><ul><li>He attacked prominent reporters by name, particularly going after CNN's Kaitlan Collins (demanding she smile more) and Jake Tapper (who he called "Fake Tapper"). </li><li>CNN released a <a href="https://x.com/CNNPR/status/2080839710914592771" target="_blank">statement</a> during Trump's speech defending its reporters, writing in part: "Honest, accurate journalism may sometimes irritate politicians, but our right to report and present that reporting without government interference is fully protected by the U.S. Constitution." </li><li>Trump also cracked a joke about a "once-feared and powerful regime" being toppled and now being run by "a gay dictator facing internal divisions" — adding "I for one wish Bari Weiss all the best at CBS News." The line got only a muted response. </li></ul><p>💭 <strong>Thought bubble, </strong><em>from Axios media correspondent Sara Fischer: </em>The CBS jokes aside, Trump's repeated praise of Paramount chair David Ellison may complicate life for the company, which is currently facing an antitrust lawsuit from a dozen Democratic state attorneys general as it tries to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. </p><p><strong>Friction point: </strong>There were also a few awkward moments for the president, as the Wall Street Journal was awarded a prize for its coverage of a letter Trump allegedly wrote to Jeffrey Epstein.</p><ul><li>Trump chuckled at the announcement of the award, though he did congratulate the reporters when they came on stage.</li><li>Trump also congratulated New York Times reporter Tyler Pager for another award; Pager was among those <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/business/media/new-york-times-trump-subpoenas.html" target="_blank">subpoenaed</a> by the DOJ earlier this week over their reporting on the new Air Force One. </li></ul><p><strong>The bottom line: </strong>Trump's speech, which ran just over an hour, started on a warmer tone but quickly descended into a familiar one of confrontation.</p><ul><li>"For all of the trouble that you give me — you give me a lot of trouble, a lot of heartache — I hope all of you know that I believe in the free press more than anyone in this room does."</li><li>He then donned a "Trump 2028" hat and pledged to run for another term, to chuckles and light applause. </li></ul>
“Smile, you have a nice position, you’re at CNN fake news, you should be a happy person,” Trump said.
At the White House Correspondent's Dinner, Trump singled out Collins during his remarks.
<img alt="President Donald Trump speaks at WHCD." class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" src="https://thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-27-at-3.20.04-PM-scaled-e1785180078393-1200x675.png" style="display: block; margin: auto; margin-bottom: 5px;" />During Friday’s redo of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, President Donald Trump jokingly compared CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins’ appearance to that of Dylan Mulvaney, the mentally ill man cosplaying as a woman. Mulvaney’s viral Bud Light posts three years ago set off a firestorm that resulted in a boycott of Bud Light and crushed the […]
<img alt="In a tuxedo and bow tie in front of a blue backdrop, Donald Trump makes jokes about gay dictators." class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" src="https://thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/gay-dictator-1200x675.jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; margin-bottom: 5px;" />The dimwitted comedian Wanda Sykes compared Rush Limbaugh to Osama bin Laden in 2009 and joked about her hope that he would get sick and die: 'I hope his kidneys fail, how about that?'
<p>Jeet Heer</p> <div><img alt="" src="https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/AP26206104223080.jpg" /></div> <div> <div class="wp-block-the-nation-dek article-title__dek"> <p>His speech was racist, homophobic, vindictive, and soul-crushingly unfunny—and the journalists in the crowd didn’t seem to care. </p> </div> </div> <p>The post <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/trump-whcd-speech-media-humiliation/">Trump Humiliated a Submissive Mainstream Media at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.thenation.com">The Nation</a>.</p>
<p>Elie Mystal</p> <div><img alt="" src="https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/GettyImages-2285785879.jpg" /></div> <div> <div class="wp-block-the-nation-dek article-title__dek"> <p>In this week’s <em>Elie v. US</em>, our justice correspondent schools Democrats on the proper response to Trump’s speech. Plus: Where have all the African American baseball players gone?</p> </div> </div> <p>The post <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/newsletter-trump-speech-democrats/">Trump Delivered the Crazy, the Democrats Delivered... Tweets</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.thenation.com">The Nation</a>.</p>