President Donald Trump clashed with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Wednesday while unveiling his new tariff policy, shutting down the reporter when she attempted to interject during his announcement.
Collins, attempting to question Trump about potential price increases linked to the tariff plan, was quickly cut off.
“Excuse me, we haven’t asked you to speak yet,” Trump said, moving on without addressing her further.
As he signed the reciprocal tariff plan, Trump outlined his vision for fair trade practices, emphasizing that other countries charging tariffs on U.S. goods should expect the same treatment in return.
“I’ve decided for purposes of fairness that I will charge a reciprocal tariff,” Trump declared. “It’s fair to all. No other country can complain.”
He explained that tariffs will be calculated based on what each country imposes on U.S. imports, ensuring that the U.S. is neither overtaxed nor undercut in global trade.
“No more or no less… They charge us a tax or tariff, and we charge the exact same tax or tariff… nobody knows what that number is… you go to an individual country and see what they are charging us.”
The exchange with Collins didn’t end there. Later in the press conference, she pressed Trump on whether he trusted Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding Ukraine.
“Do you trust President Putin?” she asked.
Trump responded:
“I believe that, uh yeah, I believe that he would like to see something happen. I trust him on the subject. I think he’d like to see something happen. I think it could have happened a long time ago. I think Biden… number one it shouldn’t have started, but it did.”
He went on to criticize the scale of destruction in Ukraine, noting that millions of people have been affected and cities have been reduced to rubble.
“All those beautiful golden towers are knocked down. There’s nothing going to replace them. But much more importantly, you lost millions of people. A lot of soldiers, but you lost millions of people. When they knocked down those cities, and they’re all laying down on the side, they’re laying down in ashes, and all crumbled up concrete, they literally look like a world-class demolition site.”
SAVAGE🤣🔥
President Trump just SHUT CNN’s Kaitlan Collins DOWN.
President Trump: “Excuse me, we haven’t asked you to speak yet.”
pic.twitter.com/t6q3ozTMUL— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 13, 2025
