For over an hour on Wednesday evening, CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins carried out a troublesome city corridor throughout which her combative visitor, former president Donald Trump, pushed his personal agenda and referred to as her a “nasty particular person.” And but, Collins would possibly emerge as the true winner of the extremely debated occasion.
On Thursday, co-founder and senior correspondent of digital media firm Puck Dylan Byers tweeted the unconfirmed “scoop” that CNN CEO Chris Licht is planning to supply Collins “a brand new contract to function the host of the community’s 9 p.m. primetime hour.” In keeping with Byers, the transfer “could possibly be introduced as early as subsequent week.”
CNN has not confirmed the announcement, which stays hypothesis. Newsweek has reached out to the corporate’s press workforce for remark by e mail.
Mike Coppola/Getty Photographs for CNN
Collins may grow to be the brand new face of CNN because the media firm tries to ascertain itself as neutral and impartial. Final yr, the information community sparked controversy after Licht introduced that the corporate was taking a brand new course and advised lawmakers that CNN was transferring away from “alarmist” programming—particularly because the announcement was adopted by the axing of hosts who had been famously essential of Trump, similar to Brian Stelter.
Throughout her explosive profession, 31-year-old Collins has managed to stay by some means above choosing a aspect on the political spectrum, and has acquired criticism from some quarters on each the left and the best. She lined the White Home through the Trump presidency, and was banned from attending a press occasion on the White Home in 2018 after asking Trump concerning the so-called Michael Cohen tapes.
Collins was the CNN White Home correspondent for the 2020 presidential election, and was promoted to a chief place through the Biden administration on the age of 28. Final September, the information community introduced Collins could be co-anchoring a brand new morning present with Don Lemon and Poppy Harlow. Lemon left CNN final month after a collection of reported sexist feedback that have been deemed inappropriate by the corporate.
On Wednesday, Collins spent a lot of the 90-minute occasion clashing with Trump over his solutions, which included a number of false or deceptive statements on voter fraud, the Capitol assault of January 6, 2021, his alleged mishandling of labeled paperwork at Mar-a-Lago, and the constructing of the border wall with Mexico.
Regardless of the fiery back-and-forth with Trump and his snapping at her, calling her “nasty,” Collins dealt with herself effectively through the occasion, in keeping with CNN. A CNN spokesperson advised Newsweek late Wednesday evening that “tonight Kaitlan Collins exemplified what it means to be a world-class journalist.”
The assertion added: “She requested powerful, truthful and revealing questions. And he or she adopted up and fact-checked President Trump in actual time to arm voters with essential details about his positions as he enters the 2024 election because the Republican frontrunner. That’s CNN’s position and accountability: to get solutions and maintain the highly effective to account.”
On the finish of the city corridor, even Trump complimented Collins on her dealing with of the controversy, shaking her hand and saying: “Thanks very a lot, Kaitlan. Good job.”