Covering a presidency is hard work on a good day. Covering Donald Trump has always been something else entirely. Last week, when Kaitlan Collins found herself on the receiving end of a public berating from the President, the exchange wasn’t just uncomfortable. It was a reminder that some assignments come with no possible path to winning.
This isn’t really about Collins, though she happened to be the target. It’s about a dynamic that’s followed Trump from the campaign trail to the Oval Office. The President is allowed to act however he wants. The moment a journalist responds like a human being, the journalist becomes the problem.
Watch the tape again and put yourself in Collins’ chair. She’s asking questions as part of her job. She’s not shouting, not editorializing, not being unreasonable or acting improperly. What she’s doing is the thing the White House press corps exists to do. Then the President unloads.
At that point, her options were gone.
If Collins had defended herself, the reaction would’ve been swift and predictable. She’d be labeled classless. Unprofessional. Disrespectful. The irony wouldn’t be acknowledged. It never is. The same people excusing the President’s behavior would’ve demanded higher standards from the reporter he was dressing down.
Agreeing with him wasn’t an option either. Nodding along or backing down only rewards the behavior. It tells Trump, and anyone watching, that this approach works. It emboldens the next outburst and raises the odds that the next reporter gets the same treatment, or worse.
So she stood there and took it.
This is the trap that’s defined Trump-era coverage from the beginning. He escalates. The press absorbs it. If anyone pushes back, the conversation shifts away from presidential conduct and toward media decorum. Suddenly, tone matters more than substance. Power goes unexamined while manners are endlessly dissected.
None of this is accidental. Trump understands leverage. He knows the press fears becoming the story. He knows many outlets would rather move on than risk losing access. That imbalance is the real issue, and it’s one the media still hasn’t figured out how to fix.
The solution doesn’t come from the person being attacked. It can’t. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Until someone who isn’t currently under fire steps in, nothing changes.
Imagine a different moment last week. Trump berates Collins. Another reporter speaks up. Not loudly. Not theatrically. Just clearly. “This isn’t OK. It’s unprofessional, it’s unbecoming of a President, and you’re being ridiculous.”
That shouldn’t be radical. It shouldn’t be controversial. It should be expected.
Instead, the silence is deafening. Many in the room look down. Others wait for the next question. Everyone calculates risk. No one wants the next barrage aimed their way. So the behavior goes unchecked, and the precedent hardens.
The idea that the President of the United States is beyond reproach should alarm every journalist in that briefing room. It should alarm viewers, too. A press corps that can’t call out misconduct in real time isn’t holding power to account. It’s managing it.
This isn’t about politics. It’s about standards. If the press accepts that verbal abuse is part of the job, it becomes part of the job. If reporters won’t defend each other, no one else will.
Kaitlan Collins didn’t fail last week. The system around her did. And until the people standing safely on the sidelines decide to speak up, we’ll keep watching the same no-win scenario play out again and again.
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
Well said! BRAVO!!