Jake Tapper defended CNN colleague Katilan Collins after her heated exchange with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt over coverage of fallen American soldiers.
Collins joined Tapper on “The Lead” to discuss the six U.S. service members killed in Iran since the start of President Donald Trump’s military operation on Saturday.
CNN’s chief White House correspondent butt heads with Leavitt at a press briefing earlier Wednesday over the Trump administration’s stance on American media covering the soldiers’ deaths.
When Collins pushed back on the press secretary, stating that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth complained that the deaths were “front page news,” Leavitt called the anchor “disingenous” and that she incorrectly framed his comments.
“That’s not what the Secretary said, Kaitlan, and that’s not what the Secretary meant, and you know it. You know you are being disingenuous,” she said. “There is not– we’ve never had a Secretary of Defense who cares more–”
The CNN anchor then read Hegseth’s comments to the press secretary.
“He said, ‘When a few drones get through or tragic things happen, it’s front page news. I get it. The press only wants to make the president look bad.’”
“The press does only want to make the president look bad,” Leavitt clapped back. “That’s a fact. Listen to me, especially you and especially CNN.”
here's the full clip of Karoline Leavitt getting big mad when Kaitlan Collins presses her on Hegseth complaining about press coverage of US troop deaths pic.twitter.com/o1OBQh98yd
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 4, 2026
Tapper said he was “utterly shocked” by Hegseth and Leavitt’s comments.
“It really is the height of solipsism and narcissism to think that our coverage of fallen warriors has anything to do with our– how we cover a president,” he told Collins. “I’m just utterly shocked that Hegseth and now Karoline Leavitt are saying it.”
“I don’t even really know what to say. It’s so offensive,” he added. “And not– I don’t care what they think about us. It’s so offensive to the families who deserve coverage.”
Leavitt also claimed in the exchange that CNN has biased coverage and wants to make Trump look bad. Collins noted that the network plans to cover the fallen soldiers’ dignified transfer.
“We expect you to cover that as you should, Kaitlan, but you and your network know that you take every single thing this administration says and tries to use it to make the president look bad,” Leavitt said. “That is an objectable fact.”
“I don’t think covering troop deaths is trying to make the president look bad,” Collins added.
“If you’re trying to argue right now that CNN’s overwhelming coverage is not negative of President Donald Trump, I think the American people would tend to agree, and your ratings would tend to disagree with that, as well,” she concluded.
Watch the full exchange above.
