Collins on Leavitt criticism: Coverage of slain US service members ‘not about the president’

CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins defended herself following a spat with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday over media coverage of the deaths of six U.S. service members as part of President Trump’s ongoing military operations in Iran.

“Needless to say, our coverage of Americans who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country is not about the president, and it’s not about CNN either,” Collins said on her nightly prime-time program on the channel. “It’s about the people that you’re looking at here. Capt. Cody Khork. Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens. Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor. And Sgt. Declan Coady.”

“It’s also for those whose names the Pentagon just released tonight, the other two who were killed, Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan,” she continued. “May they rest in peace, and may their memory be a blessing for their families, their loved ones and their nation.”

The host’s comments were first highlighted by Mediaite.

Collins had played for her audience a clip of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blasting mainstream media coverage of the deaths, which he said was designed “make the president look bad” and argued the “fake news” should be focusing on the success of American operations in the Middle East.

Collins confronted Leavitt about Hegseth’s comments Wednesday, asking if the “press should not prominently cover the deaths of U.S. service members?”

“The press does only want to make the president look bad,” Leavitt responded. “That’s an objective fact. Especially you and especially CNN.”

Leavitt has increasingly attacked both mainstream and conservative media figures who have been critical of the president’s decision to launch military action in Iran.

Trump has attacked Collins, one of CNN’s top journalists, on several occasions over her line of questioning and that of other reporters covering the White House.

The president has long sparred with CNN over its coverage of him, and as its parent company Warner Bros. Discovery goes through a sale to media conglomerate Paramount, Trump has suggested he wishes to see the network operate under new leadership.

Paramount is owned by Larry Ellison, a Trump ally and one of the richest people in the world.

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