CNN anchor Jake Tapper has stepped up to defend his colleague Kaitlan Collins after President Donald Trump called her "stupid and nasty" and misspelled her name in a social media post.

Trump, 79, shared a lengthy rant on Truth Social on Saturday, December 6, criticizing Collins, 33, over a question regarding the cost of his White House ballroom project.

According to People, he also attacked CNN, calling it "fake news" and "irrelevant" due to low ratings. In his post, he wrote her name incorrectly as "Caitlin Collin's."

Tapper quickly responded on X (formerly Twitter), correcting the spelling and defending Collins' professionalism.

"2) she's smart 3) she's nice," Tapper wrote in a bulleted reply, adding that her question about the construction costs "is a legitimate question about construction of a controversial project on White House grounds."

He also acknowledged Trump's explanation of the project's cost and progress, stating, "Thanks for the explanation."

Donald Trump Misnames CNN's Kaitlan Collins

Earlier reports suggested Collins asked about the ballroom's rising costs, but she later clarified, "Technically my question was about Venezuela."

Despite this, Tapper emphasized that journalists have a duty to ask questions about controversial projects.

He also challenged Trump's claim that CNN is irrelevant, pointing out, "Generally speaking, if someone or something is irrelevant, the President doesn't talk about them."

Trump's post criticized the ballroom's budget, claiming it was "under budget and ahead of schedule," while the estimated cost has reportedly increased from $200 million to $300 million, Meaww reported.

Trump defended the project's higher cost by citing expanded size and upgraded finishes, noting that it is "being fully paid for by private donations."

This incident is the latest in a string of attacks by Trump on female journalists.

In recent months, he called CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes "a stupid person" and referred to ABC News' Mary Bruce as "a terrible reporter" while she attempted to ask about the Epstein files.

Collins previously defended her colleagues, praising their work in a November X post.

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