Rarely in its 116-year history has the Oval Office been the scene of such brutal trash talk from a commander in chief.

President Donald Trump on Monday ridiculed CNN’s Kaitlan Collins at the White House as he met with President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador. 

‘Let’s not start with CNN because they are just so wrong,’ Trump began, as the pair took questions from the press, where Collins was present. 

After several journalists asked the president questions, Trump pointed to Collins. 

‘Let’s hear the question from this very low-rated anchor at CNN,’ he said. 

When Collins inquired Trump about a man previously residing in Maryland who was deported to El Salvador, Trump requested his Attorney General Pam Bondi and his deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller to provide a response.

Mr. Ábrego García, aged 29, was living in the U.S. without legal documentation from El Salvador when the Trump administration deported him in March. This occurred despite him having been granted legal protection from deportation by an immigration judge in 2019.

Both Trump and Bukele indicated little to no intention of sending the man back to Maryland, even after the Supreme Court instructed the Trump administration to facilitate his return.

CNN broadcast journalist Kaitlan Collins at the White House 

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, left, in the Oval Office

 ‘How long do we have to answer this question from you?,’ Trump said. ‘Why don’t you just say, isn’t it wonderful that we’re keeping criminals out of our country? Why can’t you just say that?’ 

Collins asked a followup, asking if Trump would abide by the ruling, he further taunted her network.    

‘Why do you go over and over, that’s why no one watches you anymore, you have no credibility,’ Trump said.

President Bukele marveled at Trump’s rapid turnaround of border enforcement on the Southern border of the United States since succeeding President Joe Biden in January. 

He questioned Trump why the news media in the United States did not report the good numbers on the border more often. 

Trump said there was a ‘99.1 percent’ border enforcement at the Southern border and complained that the media had no interest in reporting the good news.  

‘Well they get out, but the fake news you know like CNN over here doesn’t want to put them out because they don’t like putting out good numbers, because I think they hate our country actually,’ Trump continued. 

CNN’s Dana Bash reacted to the president’s comment on her afternoon show on Monday.  

‘CNN does not hate our country, that should go without saying, Bash said, dimissing his remarks as a ‘rhetorical device.’ 

Collins recently spoke about her job at CNN in a feature with Vanity Fair, describing herself as a ‘joyful warrior’ despite the president’s verbal disparaging at the White House. 

She dismissed Trump’s criticism of her network as a ‘distraction technique’ and said the job was all-encompassing.

‘There are no days off. You can’t have a chill Friday. If you ever think it’s going to be chill, it’s guaranteed to not be,’ she said. 

Kaitlan Collins, chief White House correspondent for CNN, prior to a news conference at the White House

Kaitlan Collins sips a drink at the Hudson Hound in New York City 

Journalist and CNN news anchor Kaitlan Collins (C) and other journalist raise their hands during a joint press conference

Collins appeared to find a moment of relaxation on Sunday, however, as she celebrated the conclusion of the Masters Golf Tournament by sipping a drink at the Hudson Hound in New York. 

‘Green jacket Sunday,’ she wrote, sharing the image on her Instagram account.