Trump lobs transphobic jab at Kaitlan Collins with unhinged escalation of his attack

President Donald Trump escalated his multi-day spat with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Sunday, sharing an edited image depicting her as Dylan Mulvaney – building on his earlier claim that the anchor resembles the transgender influencer.

On Friday at the White House Correspondents Dinner, Trump said that Collins bore a resemblance to Mulvaney, who was subjected to a right-wing fury over a 2023 Bud Light promotional partnership.

“I thought Kaitlan had really made it big with a major new sponsorship,” he said. “but then I informed her that it wasn’t her on the Bud Light can, it was Dylan Mulvaney.”

Trump also told Collins to smile more.

“She’s a young, attractive woman,” Trump told the crowd. “She never smiles. I said, ‘Kaitlan do you ever smile? Smile!’ You have a nice position; you’re at CNN fake news. You should be a happy person. So smile, Kaitlan! Just smile.”

On Saturday, Collins appeared to indirectly address Trump on social media, sharing the following quote from Eleanor Roosevelt: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

While it’s unclear if Trump had seen Collins’ post, the CNN anchor was clearly still on Trump’s mind.

On Sunday shared an image that appears to be a screengrab from Mulvaney’s Bud Light promotional video, only with Mulvaney digitally replaced with a depiction of Collins, potentially with generative artificial intelligence.