Kaitlan Collins responded Monday to Donald Trump mocking her during his White House Correspondents’ Dinner speech, telling Jon Stewart on The Daily Show that the insult was hardly a surprise after a decade covering Trump. Collins said similar attacks happen regularly inside the Oval Office. Trump reportedly compared Collins to trans actress and influencer Dylan Mulvaney during the insult-heavy address. Collins said the bigger surprise was the room’s reaction: Trump’s allies and advisers remained notably quiet while the president delivered the jab. Collins Put the Focus Back on the Work When Stewart asked why Trump seems so fixated on her, Collins said her White House questions are not designed to please one party or one audience. Collins said she wants everyone from her family in Alabama to officials in Washington to hear the question and consider the answer, rather than treat political coverage like team sports. Stewart joked that the answer was “very clearly you should smile more,” prompting Collins to flash a giant grin at the camera. Collins then returned to her larger point, saying the attention should stay on the reporting, the questions Trump disliked and the nonanswers that followed. She also praised Wolf Blitzer for reading award descriptions at the dinner, especially because several honors recognized coverage of the Trump administration. Collins said her reaction is not the story, whether the president is Trump or Joe Biden. Her strategy is to point viewers back to the work that triggered the criticism, a move that keeps the exchange from becoming a personal feud and puts the receipts where they belong.