Kaitlan Collins is a smart and talented American journalist, best known for her stint as CNN’s White House Correspondent, a position she assumed in 2017. She became one of the youngest White House correspondents to ever work for the cable network, reflecting her fast and successful rise in journalism.
The journey to the top is one that has come with its share of controversy for Collins. Her insistence on asking hard-hitting questions has pitted her against members of the Trump administration. It is a reputable change quite impressive for someone who started her career as an entertainment reporter.
Kaitlan Collins’ Career Began at The Daily Caller
Kaitlan Collins was born on April 7, 1992, in Prattville, Alabama, United States. She has three younger siblings, two brothers (Cole and Brayden) and a sister named Lena Grace. The identity of her mom is still quite a mystery but her dad, Jeff Collins, is a senior mortgage banker.
The CNN reporter was a student at Prattville High School Alabama. She also attended the University of Alabama. Initially, Kaitlan Collins studied chemistry but later switched her major to journalism and political science. She graduated in May 2014 and started as a freelance blogger and writer.
Skilled with the pen, she quickly became a hotly desired journalist for established media outlets, eventually landing a role at The Daily Caller in June. For the first three years of her career, she worked as an entertainment reporter, covering stories and news in and around the industry.
In January 2017, she finally got the chance to put her political science degree to use, by becoming the website’s White House correspondent. She got the role after an outstanding performance covering the 2016 United States presidential elections for the website. In her brief time as White House Correspondent for the news outlet, she got noticed, and she joined CNN a few months later.
Becoming One of the Youngest White House Correspondents in CNN History
When CNN hired Kaitlan to continue in her role as White House Correspondent, she made history. At 25, she became one of the youngest journalists to hold the position for the news network. Since she made history, Collins has continued to display the skill and talent that helped her achieve it in the first place.
At CNN, she has broken several stories about the Trump administration, from its policy decisions to staff departures. In her role as WHCD, she has also traveled with Trump to more than six countries. In addition to in-depth coverage of the White House, Kaitlan Collins has also reported on the Senate special election in Alabama, her home state.
But for Kaitlan, the rapid rise to the top has meant an unprecedented level of exposure, and sometimes not in a good way. She has been at the center of at least two controversies involving present and former members of the Trump administration.
Her Involvement in a Seating Controversy During a Press Briefing
Kaitlan Collins’ penchant for asking questions that the Trump White House do not find favorable has often landed her in rough exchanges with members of the administration. The dynamic went up a notch in April 2020, after she questioned the President’s claim of total authority to manage social distancing restrictions as a result of Covid-19.
Later in the month, a White House official ordered her to exchange her front seat with another reporter who sat at the rear in the press room. As a journalist for CNN, she had initially been assigned a seat in the front row as a representative of a major news network, as part of a protocol designed by the White House Correspondents’ Association.
Kaitlan Collins refused to comply with the order to a seat swap, and so did the reporter. Her refusal to follow the order led the White House official to suggest the Secret Service would get involved, but that ultimately, did not happen.
She Got Barred from a Trump Administration Press Conference in 2018
Almost a year after she started with CNN, she encountered one of the troubling moments with her job. She was banned from covering an open press event held in July 2018, at the White House Rose Garden. According to Collins, she got barred from the event because of her supposedly ”inappropriate” questions to President Donald Trump.
Kaitlan had asked the President questions relating to Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen. According to the then press secretary, Sarah Sanders, her questions were inappropriate for the venue, and she shouted her questions while refusing to leave. Other administration officials like Kellyanne Conway and Bill Shine defended the decision.
CNN decried the decision by the White House. The network took to their Twitter page to insinuate that there was nothing inappropriate about the questions asked by their correspondent. They went further to state that the ban, was a means of avoiding answering the questions and an attack on press freedom.
Kaitlan and CNN also received support from Fox News, via its President Jay Wallace, who expressed solidarity in a statement. The Alabama-born journalist was subsequently reinstated. However, not every controversy involving the journalist were from the White House.
Her Old Tweets Once Landed Her in Hot Water
In October 2018, Kaitlan was at the center of another controversy after some of her old tweets resurfaced. In the tweets, she used homophobic language repeatedly, with comments such as saying she does not know if she wants to share a room with a lesbian.
The controversy died after she issued an apology. And, it has not been all about controversies and clashes for Kaitlan Collins since she became a White House Correspondent.
Her work and career have earned her recognition from a few organizations and media outlets. She was listed as one of the 50 Most Influential People in News Media by Mediaite and was also named to Crain’s NewsPro’s 12 to Watch in TV News in January 2019, as well as one of Forbes Magazine’s 30 under 30: Media in 2019.
Kaitlan Collins is Dating a Pharmaceutical Entrepreneur
Kaitlan Collins is not yet married and like most professionals in her line of work, prefers keeping her private life private. However, several reports have it that she has been in a relationship with a man named Will Douglas, the owner of Crimson Care Pharmacy Group.
The White House Correspondent is yet to reveal how they met or when it began. Nevertheless, most of her Instagram uploads tell that they share a beautiful love story. Since 2016, Collins has stopped publishing photos of their relationship. Douglas’ last picture, on the other hand, was in 2017.
The assumption is that the couple opted to keep their relationship low-key, particularly in light of Collins’ rising status as a public personality. For now, they are still considered a couple.
https://www.instagram.com/p/4wuYmUBOVY/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Thing You Should Know About Will Douglas
Will Douglas was born on April 1, 1979. He is an alumnus of Oklahoma University, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in Multi Interdisciplinary Studies in 2009. He subsequently received his doctorate in Pharmacy from the same institution and founded his own company, Crimson Care Pharmacy Group.
Collins’ boyfriend has also gotten involved in politics. In October 2019, he announced his intention to run for the Texas 113th State House District seat under the Republican Party in 2020. It remains to be seen if and how his candidacy will affect the couple’s relationship.