CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Calls Trump Out For Ignoring Questions Twice Amid Epstein Bombshell

CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins called out President Donald Trump for ignoring questions from reporters twice amid the renewed uproar over the Epstein files.

Interest in deceased sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein exploded anew when, in rapid succession, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released emails from Epstein that directly referenced Trump, Republicans responded with a dump of tens of thousands more documents, and the House of Representatives voted up a discharge petition on the release of more Epstein documents.

On Thursday night’s edition of CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins, the anchor repeatedly called Trump out for not taking questions during his first two appearances on camera:

COLLINS: This is also coming as a bunch of polls show that the majority of Republicans actually do not approve of how the President has been handling the whole Epstein saga.

The House Oversight Committee’s release of some 20,000 pages of emails, yesterday, where, as we reported, the President’s name appeared several times, has also renewed scrutiny on why the White House is fighting the release of the Epstein files so hard.

The President has never been charged or accused of a crime. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing here. He has actually not even been accused of wrongdoing here.

But in Jeffrey Epstein’s own words, as we read in these emails, he said of Trump, “Of course he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.”

It seemed to be a reference to what we heard from the President himself, this summer, that he had kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago Club in South Florida for poaching the young women who worked there.

Now, Speaker Mike Johnson is about to bring this vote to the House floor earlier than he has to, because he wants to move on from all of this. It appears that the White House certainly does as well.

The President has been in front of the cameras twice, since we broke this story, yesterday morning. But both times, he did not take questions from reporters, including ones about the new Epstein emails.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(APPLAUSE)

REPORTER: Sir, any response to the Epstein emails that mention your name?

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COLLINS: Now, whether or not this story stops next week, after the House votes on this, as it is expected to pass, it remains to be seen if that’s the end of this.

I’m told, the White House is very skeptical that this is going to go from the House to the Senate, even for a vote. They don’t expect the Majority Leader there, John Thune, to actually even bring it to the floor for a vote.

But whether or not that changes remains to be see.

Seconds later, she asked author and journalist Jonathan Karl about the lapse:

COLLINS: We both covered the White House, covered Trump. Been in those moments in the Oval Office —

KARL: Yes.

COLLINS: — where he just seems like he can’t even resist taking questions. It is something the White House touts as his commitment to transparency.

I wonder what you think it says, that he didn’t take questions, last night, and he also didn’t take questions today as he was walking out of the East Room.

KARL: I mean, that was a very revealing piece of tape. I mean, when he’s right there, the reporter is right there, the camera is there, and it’s something that’s in the news. Trump usually talks. So, I don’t know.

And look, this has been a long process. I mean, I think you were there with me when, in his — in the first term, when Trump just randomly said that he wished Ghislaine Maxwell well.

COLLINS: Yes.

KARL: I mean, he’s had very — a very strange approach to all this.

And let’s think. It’s also the House not being in session for all the — all that time. It’s Todd Blanche going down to Florida to meet with Maxwell.

COLLINS: Yes.

KARL: It’s transferring Maxwell to this lower-security prison.

Watch above via CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins.