Donald Trump Snaps at CNN's Kaitlan Collins Over Iran War Poll Question at UN

President Donald Trump dismissed a question about new CNN polling on the war in Iran, telling the network's chief White House correspondent, Kaitlan Collins, at the United Nations on Tuesday that the United States is "making a lot of progress," without engaging with the finding she raised.

The exchange came four days after the White House barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from its grounds, a ban the three outlets are now fighting in federal court. Collins said reporters were able to question the president in New York only because the United Nations, not the White House, had credentialed them. "I should note are here because we are credentialed by the United Nations while being blocked by the White House from covering the president," she told anchors Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown.

Trump Tells Kaitlan Collins 'You Should Not Be Here'

When Collins began her question, Trump appeared surprised by CNN's presence. "It's an honor to be here. I'm surprised that CNN is here covering me," he said. After Collins responded that "The United Nations allowed us in, sir," Trump continued: "You should not be here covering me. You said you weren't gonna cover me. You shouldn't be covering me."

Collins pressed on: "Two-thirds of Americans don't think that the US is winning the war with Iran. When will it end?" Trump did not engage with the figure. "We're making a lot of progress. Our country is doing really, really well. Thank you very much," he said before moving on.

Reporting back to the anchors, Collins disputed the president's characterization of the network's plans. "We never said we were not going to cover the president. We will do our best to cover him each and every day," she said, adding that CNN had been positioned in the same spot at last year's General Assembly, "long before all of this back-and-forth over access to the White House began as it did on Friday."

Aaron Rupar, who posts clips of political television to a large online following, framed the moment around the access dispute. "It's really amazing. The United Nations opens up the door to all the news organizations covering the president who's in New York today for this UN speech even as the White House bars news organizations from covering the president of the United States," he said.

What Other Polling Shows on the Iran War

Collins' question drew on new CNN polling that she said found most Americans do not believe the U.S. is winning the war in Iran. A separate national survey points in the same direction on the conflict's costs. The Marquette Law School Poll, conducted September 2-9 among 1,023 adults with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 points, found that just 21 percent of Americans say the Iran war has been worth the cost, down from 28 percent in May. Only 13 percent said the U.S. has achieved its goals in the conflict, while 87 percent said it has not.

Trump's Broader Approval Numbers

The Iran findings track with Trump's wider political standing. PolitiKool's polling average puts his overall approval at 38.8 percent and disapproval at 58.2 percent, a net rating of minus 19.4 points. On the generic congressional ballot, PolitiKool's polling average shows Democrats ahead of Republicans 48.2 percent to 41.5 percent heading into the 2026 midterms.

The White House Ban and Court Fight

Trump announced on Friday that he was barring CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House. "Media Outlets shouldn't be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they're covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America," he wrote, according to ABC News. Reporters from the three outlets were turned away and had their credentials taken on Saturday.

The outlets sued on Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, arguing that the ban violates their reporters' due process rights under the Fifth Amendment and amounts to unlawful retaliation under the First Amendment. They are seeking a temporary restraining order to restore access, and Judge Timothy Kelly has scheduled a hearing for Wednesday afternoon.

Vice President JD Vance defended the move. "He's not banning media outlets. What he's doing is saying we're not going to give you special access to the White House if you engage in what is effectively propaganda," he said, per ABC News.

What Happens Next

Collins noted that the president's UN remarks on Iran would be closely watched by Gulf leaders meeting him on the sidelines of the summit, since several U.S. allies in the region have been hit by Iranian missiles and drones during the conflict. Trump did not say when the war would end.

Wednesday's hearing will be the first test of whether the ban survives judicial review. Until then, as Collins put it, CNN's access to the president depends on venues the White House does not control.