Kaitlan Collins's Political Views Aren't What You Might Believe Them to Be

Few journalists have had a more meteoric rise over the past decade than CNN's Kaitlan Collins, who now hosts the network's The Source. Kaitlan, who is just 33 years old, has worked at CNN since 2017, and in that time, she has been the occasional subject of President Trump's ire.

During a recent informal White House pool spray, the president told Katilan that she needed to smile more after she asked him a question about the Epstein files. Given his open antagonism toward her, many want to better understand what Kaitlan's actual political views are. Here's what we know.

Given that she is a journalist for a national news outlet, Kaitlan is not usually very forthcoming about her political views. She has focused on being a nonpartisan journalist in the mold of many political reporters, which means asking difficult questions to politicians in both parties. As her interaction with the president indicates, though, she certainly isn't afraid to push him towards topics he might not be comfortable discussing.

What we do know, though, is that Kaitlan comes from The Daily Caller, a right-wing publication that she worked for until she was first hired for her job at CNN. While we don't know whether Kaitlan agreed with everything the publication published during her time there, it's fair to say that she didn't have any major moral qualms about taking a job at such a partisan outlet. And, as it turns out, it ultimately led her to her work at CNN.

Kaitlan grew up in a rural town in Alabama, and according to an interview with InStyle, she "had a really apolitical upbringing."

"I didn't even know what The Daily Caller was," she explained. "But I needed a job … and you have to start somewhere."

Kaitlan is a registered independent, and we don't know whether she votes. Ultimately, though, it seems like her focus is on being a good reporter, not on partisan coverage that favors one candidate or the other.

"You have to be competitive and want to break the story before anyone else does," she said. "What goes hand-in-hand with that is being diligent and making sure you're being fair, making sure you're reaching to people, and making sure you're right."

Ultimately, then, it seems like Kaitlan is not a partisan hack for either party, although that has not stopped President Trump from suggesting that she is.

During their latest White House interaction, Trump was pretty nasty and personal in her attacks on Kaitlan.

"You are the worst reporter," he said. "CNN has no ratings because of people like you."

"You know she's a young woman — I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile. I’ve known you for 10 years," he continued. "I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smile on your face. You know why you're not smiling? Because you know you're not telling the truth."

Trump also called Kaitlan "stupid and nasty" as recently as December of last year, so it seems like he has a particularly bad relationship with her.