How many times have we heard the Democrats smear President Donald Trump as a "fascist"? I don't think they know what a fascist is, but they keep slinging around the term hoping it sticks.
We're also told he wants to suppress the media, even though he's constantly talking to them, unlike his predecessor, Joe Biden. It was Biden's team that tried to limit media contact, likely afraid they couldn't control what might be revealed on Biden's issues.
Meanwhile, Trump has no fear and regularly takes on the media in briefings. Indeed, one of the reporters Trump has battled with a bit is Kaitlan Collins of CNN. Not only is she from CNN, which Trump doesn't think much of, but he thinks that she has been unfair to him in the past.
READ MORE: Trump Hits CNN's Kaitlan Collins With Brutal Truth Bombs to Her Questions in Oval Office
So the story Kaitlan Collins shared on a recent podcast, about how the Trump administration came to her defense - and the defense of press freedom - has some extra meaning. Collins appeared on the "Absolutely Not" podcast with host Heather McMahan on Wednesday, as our sister site Townhall reported.
Collins explained how they were in Saudi Arabia with the White House pool of reporters following Trump, "They famously do not like the media there, to put it lightly." She tried to ask a question, which caused the Saudi royal guard to freak out, "because they don't have press freedom there." They told her she couldn't come to the next event.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Says Karoline Leavitt Defended Her Free Press Rights
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) February 12, 2026
“The Saudi Royal Guard freaked out because I dared to ask a question … and said, you can't come into the next event … Karoline, to her credit said, no Kaitlan's coming in with the rest of the U.S.… pic.twitter.com/uhB9al4GVX
Collins said some of the press people weren't sure what to do in that situation, so they went to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Leavitt interceded on Collins' behalf, and said that Collins was coming in with the rest of the pool; they should not stop her.
Collins praised that as important in that moment abroad, to communicate a message on press freedom.
"And to her credit, she said, no, Kaitlin is coming in with the rest of the U.S. press. And we went in. And so it didn't become this huge issue," Collins said. "And so to her credit, she, without a doubt, was like, no, you're coming in. Which I do think is important in that moment, especially when you're the U.S. contingent abroad, and we don't do things like they do in Saudi Arabia."
So while the Trump team might not think Collins is fair, while they might think CNN is "fake news," in a foreign country, they're still going to stand up for her right to be there with the rest of the reporters, if that right is threatened.
Good for Karoline Leavitt!
It also kind of blows up that whole Democrat "fascist" narrative about the Trump administration when they're actually standing up for the press. And maybe it also caused Collins to appreciate a little more the press freedom she has here. Trump or Leavitt criticizing her for not being fair is not an "attack on a free press" - it's a call for the media to be more accountable. No one is stopping the media from printing all the silly/wrong things they have published.
That doesn't mean that the administration should not get to comment on those things or how wrong they might be.
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