CNN Reporter Kaitlan Collins Blasts White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany for ‘Not Doing’ Her ‘Taxpayer-Funded Job’

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany held her first press briefing since Oct. 1 on Friday. Her latest briefing may have been on the short side, but McEnany still got involved in a tiff with CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins. According to the Daily Beast, after answering a few questions and delivering pre-written remarks about President Donald Trump‘s presidency, McEnany started to walk away from her podium. Before she did so, Collins tried to ask another question, but the press secretary told her that she doesn’t “call on activists,” leading the reporter to issue a sharp rebuttal of her own.

McEnany ended her remarks with a pre-written statement alleging that Democrats and the intelligence community have been “unfair” to Trump during his presidency. She then began to walk away from her podium without taking any further questions. Naturally, the reporters in the room continued to try to grab her attention to ask her questions about the president and his administration. But, before she did walk away, she told CNN’s Collins, “I don’t call on activists.” The reporter immediately shot back with, “I’m not an activist, and you haven’t taken any questions since Oct. 1. And you just took about five, Kayleigh. That’s not doing your job — your taxpayer-funded job.” McEnany exited the room as Collins continued to speak. On Twitter, the reporter continued to defend herself against the press secretary’s statement. She first explained exactly what happened during the situation and added, “It’s understandable why someone who hasn’t done their job — taking questions from reporters — in weeks would confuse someone else doing theirs with activism.”

Collins’ CNN colleague Joe Tapper commended her for how she handled the situation. On Twitter, he wrote, “@kaitlancollins is an activist for the truth and for facts. And she will still be in that room after January 20, 2021.” Tapper’s statement touched upon the fact that Trump will no longer occupy the White House after Jan. 20, 2021, after he lost the presidential election to former Vice President Joe Biden, who was projected to win after securing enough votes from the electoral college. The president has yet to concede the election and continues to falsely claim that there was widespread voter “fraud.” (There is no evidence to support such claims.)