Trump Admits He Can Be 'Oversensitive' to Press Coverage, Then Targets Anderson Cooper and Kaitlan Collins

President Donald Trump used the rescheduled White House Correspondents' Dinner on July 24 at the Waldorf Astoria to acknowledge tensions with the press while launching a series of barbs at journalists and public figures. He conceded he can be "oversensitive" about coverage, then mocked reporters, celebrities and awards given at the event.

Speaking to a room of journalists, politicians and media figures, Trump said the media can be "very, very difficult people" and cited a report that claimed he received "93 percent negative publicity." He quipped that the crowd represented the "largest group of Trump Derangement Syndrome" assembled anywhere, and raised questions about how negative coverage aligned with his electoral success.

"You can be very, very difficult people," Trump said. "But I'm probably being a little bit oversensitive. Sometimes, I really do think that some of you don't like me. In fact, I read a report. I get 93 percent negative publicity … How the hell did I win the election by so much? Think of it. I don't think that's true."

Trump briefly praised the press corps' response to an April shooting scare that interrupted the original dinner, but quickly returned to criticism. He singled out television personalities — saying he had long liked Anderson Cooper but that Cooper "went bad" after entering politics — and mocked Lawrence O'Donnell and Don Lemon's on-air performance.

"I'm not a fan of Lawrence O'Donnell. I like Anderson [Cooper] actually because he's covered me well for many years. And he went bad as soon as I went for politics... But we had a contest for who had the lowest ratings and the lowest IQ on television, and that was actually Don Lemon, I think."

He also targeted entertainers who protested a UFC demonstration on the White House lawn, ridiculing Bette Midler and Jane Fonda and taking aim at Bruce Springsteen's appearance. Later in his remarks, Trump turned to Kaitlan Collins of CNN after her award at the dinner, dismissing the prize as "fake" and commenting on her appearance.

"I want to personally congratulate CNN's Kaitlan Collins on receiving her award," Trump said. "It was all about me. It's a fake. She shouldn't get the award... But she's a young, attractive woman. She never smiles. I said, Kaitlan, you ever smile? Smile. You have a nice position. You're at CNN fake news. You should be a happy person. So smile, Kaitlan. Just smile."

White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) President Weijia Jiang immediately defended Collins onstage, telling the audience she has "a beautiful smile." The event — originally halted in April after a shooting scare — was reconvened on July 24 under heightened security and marked Trump's first attendance at the dinner as president after he largely skipped the event during his first term and the early part of his second.

Trump's appearance came amid a fraught relationship between his administration and the news media, punctuated by disputes over press access, public attacks on major outlets and legal conflicts involving news organizations such as The New York Times and the BBC. His remarks at the correspondents' dinner underscored those tensions while mixing self-aware comments with personal criticism of journalists and entertainers.