CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins appeared visibly shaken after Stephen Colbert’s comment about her “objective” attitude sparked laughter from her audience.
The 32-year-old journalist was accidentally targeted by the Late Show host after saying CNN “reports the news as it is,” which Colbert admitted was not intended as a joke.
But Colbert’s audience clearly saw the funny side, as they erupted in hysterics when he said, “I know you guys are targeted (at CNN).”
“Is that supposed to be a laugh line?” Collins replied, to which Colbert responded, “It wasn’t supposed to be… but I guess it is.”
CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins weighed in on the US presidential election during an appearance on Stephen Colbert’s talk show on Monday night.
Collins was reacting after Colbert’s audience laughed when he said CNN would be “objective” and “report the news as it is.”
The accidental dig at Collins came as she was discussing the state of the US presidential race on Monday night.
Collins said Donald Trump’s campaign had been derailed when President Biden dropped out of the race and was replaced by Kamala Harris, which she said “blew him away.”
“He’s not quite sure how to attack Vice President Harris,” he continued.
‘She knew her lines of attack against President Biden, but she’s really had a hard time knowing how to attack someone who’s 20 years younger, who’s a different gender, who’s a different race.
“It was like a moment where he couldn’t focus on a single line of attack.”
While Collins’s perspective on the race echoes that of many pundits in recent weeks (particularly after Trump’s comments about how Harris “became a black person” to score political points), the suggestion that CNN is “objective” drew laughter.
The suggestion that CNN is “objective” in its newsgathering drew laughter on Colbert’s late-night show.
Collins has risen rapidly through the ranks at CNN in recent years, becoming the anchor of the network’s primetime show last summer.
But during that time he has come under scrutiny several times from conservatives who questioned his coverage, including a particularly tense town hall with Donald Trump last May.
Trump called her a “disgusting person” after questioning her about why she brought classified documents to Mar-a-Lago.
She was also banned from attending a Trump administration press conference after asking the then-president “inappropriate” questions in 2021.
Following her confrontation with Trump at the May town hall, conservative commentator Megyn Kelly led the criticism, calling her a “disaster” and “ill-prepared” to deal with the former president.
Collins’ objectivity was also called into question by critics earlier this year when some viewers accused her of smiling on air after Trump was found guilty of 34 felonies.