President Trump is taking some responsibility for Republicans’ big midterm losses, but it’s clear he’s in no mood for the typical media-driven ‘controversies’ and pandering to his TDS Republican critics, as evidenced by his treatment of CNN’s White House correspondent during a surprise Monday presser.
President Donald Trump unloaded on CNN’s Kaitlan Collins during a surprise White House press briefing Monday after she questioned his continued support for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The tense exchange began when Collins asked Trump whether he would stand behind Hegseth if the House impeaches him.
“Will you stand by Pete Hegseth if he’s impeached?” Collins asked.
“Yeah, I’ll stand by him,” Trump responded.
Collins pressed the president on whether Hegseth would remain defense secretary even if lawmakers formally impeached him.
“He won two wars. He was in charge. We all won. I had great people,” Trump said.
Collins then noted that Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, who introduced eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth earlier Monday, has accused the Pentagon chief of illegal conduct.
“Massie says that he’s carried out illegal acts,” Collins said.
Trump immediately fired back at both Massie and the CNN reporter. “Massie’s a loser. Just like you’re a loser at CNN. Just like your ratings are a loser,” Trump said. “Massie is a loser, a stone-cold loser!”
Trump continued attacking Massie, one of his most persistent Republican critics in Congress.
“Massie has a lot of hatred in his heart,” Trump said. “I heard what Massie did. I don’t want to watch. I don’t want to waste my time watching him.”
Trump to Kaitlan Collins:
“Massie’s a loser just like you’re a loser at CNN. Your ratings are a loser. Massie is a stone cold loser.”
No filter ? https://t.co/enExdv03W1
— Alec Lace (@AlecLace) November 9, 2026
Massie reintroduced his impeachment resolution Monday, setting up a potential House showdown over Hegseth during the lame-duck session.
The Kentucky Republican’s eight articles accuse Hegseth of misconduct involving the Iran war and other military operations, including alleged violations of the War Powers Resolution.
Those allegations remain accusations contained in Massie’s resolution, and Hegseth and the Trump administration have strongly rejected them.
Trump used his exchange with Collins to highlight what he described as Hegseth’s accomplishments at the Pentagon.
“We won two wars. We won two wars,” Trump said. “And we’ve made the world a lot safer place.”
Trump then questioned why previous defense officials had not faced similar congressional scrutiny after unsuccessful military operations.
“What about good old Lloyd?” Trump said, referring to former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. “Why didn’t we go after him? What about all these people that lost wars? You don’t go after them.”
Trump also pointed to military recruitment numbers as evidence that Hegseth has succeeded as defense secretary.
“When I was campaigning, we had the worst recruitment — people wanting to join the military — in the history of our country,” Trump said. “We couldn’t fill any of the spots. It was a disaster. Now we have the best numbers we’ve ever had.”
Trump said interest in military and uniformed service had increased dramatically since he returned to the White House.
“More people want to be in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, even the police, Space Force, firemen, anybody with a uniform,” Trump said.
“The soldiers, the actual soldiers, the great people that do the work, the great patriots, they love Pete Hegseth. “He’s done a very good job,” Trump added.
