Sarah Matthews, an ex-spokesperson for President Trump, on Wednesday slammed the president for recent comments he made about CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.

“Kaitlan Collins is a very, very good reporter. She’s the best at what she does, and I think that’s why you see Trump go after her more ferociously than any other reporter in that room,” Matthews said on “CNN NewsNight,” in comments highlighted by Mediaite.

“And it is disgusting to watch him tell a woman that she needs to smile while doing her job. I’ve seen Kaitlan smile plenty of times, but when she’s asking someone a hard-hitting question, I don’t think that that means that she has to smile while doing it. And he brings it up time and time again, and it’s these misogynistic attacks, not just against Kaitlan,” she added.

On Wednesday, Trump attacked Collins, saying she had “hatred in her eyes” as he took questions from reporters in the Oval Office.

Trump was answering a question on the defunct “anti-weaponization” fund, calling it a “beautiful thing.” The president then went after CNN, which he said was “crooked as hell” and “a very corrupt organization,” and turned his attention to Collins.

“But with a corrupt reporter standing right there, never smiles,” he said. “You never see a young, beautiful woman who never smiles. I never see a smile on her face. I see her standing there with hatred in her eyes.”

The president, who has a history of comments seen as misogynistic or demeaning toward women, commonly goes after Collins, giving commentary on her appearance and criticizing CNN’s reporting on him. Earlier this year, he also attacked her for not smiling at him.

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.

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