Kate Bolduan is a staple journalist on CNN, co-hosting “CNN News Central” and “5 Things with Kate Bolduan.” She joined the news network in 2007, and before CNN, she leveraged her journalistic skills at a local news network in North Carolina before landing a role with NBC and MSNBC in Washington D.C. Throughout Bolduan’s journey on CNN, her on-air personality reveals that she is assertive and confident in her work.

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On several occasions while on air, Bolduan has interjected her guests’ dialogue in cases where they may be speaking out of turn, sharing incorrect facts, or just downright frustrating her. One of those instances was in August 2017 when the journalist was hosting a panel discussion about Heather Heyer, an activist in Charlottesville who was killed after being intentionally hit by a car while protesting a rally to save the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee put together by a white supremacist group. During the conversation, Republican Ed Martin accused CNN of placing blame on then-President Donald Trump after the network played audio of Heyer’s mother saying that she didn’t want to communicate with the president following her daughter’s death.

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Bolduan explained that they simply shared what the interviewee said — as journalists do — but Martin doubled down. “Coming on my show to blame and shame me — why did you do it,” the journalist asked before quickly ending the conversation. This wasn’t her first or last time pushing back either. 

On January 6, 2025, Kate Bolduan and CNN opinion contributor Scott Jennings were discussing the 2021 attacks on the U.S. Capitol. The two were joined by attorney Bakari Sellers and focused their conversation on how Donald Trump convinced Americans to put him back in power given his involvement and reaction to the January 6 riots. “They looked at what happened on January the 6th, they looked at all the things Democrats claimed about Donald Trump. And they also analyzed every single decision that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris made. And they delivered Donald Trump a convincing four years,” Jennings said as he made his argument on why Trump was re-elected (via Mediaite). Bolduan then responded, saying, “…when you say that people decide that’s what people tried to make sure didn’t happen on January 6th, was allowing the people to decide it.”

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The conversation then centered on inflation and the country’s economy. Sellers and Jennings overtook the conversation, arguing about whether prices had gone down or remained high. Bolduan, who wasn’t able to get a word in, tried to refocus the conversation, but Jennings ignored her polite interjection and started a new sentence. He began, “You guys are trying-…” but the journalist firmly told the opinion contributor, “Zip it!” Not taking the (not-so-subtle) hint, Jennings continued, “-to paint a picture of a country that doesn’t exist!” The two bumped heads again on air in February 2025 after disagreeing on Elon Musk’s involvement in American politics.

Representative Thomas Massie made an appearance on “CNN News Central” in January 2024, and during the interview, Massie questioned whether the journalist had fully prepared for the conversation, which, let’s be honest, any journalist would feel offended by. The tension between the two came when Bolduan asked the politician about remarks politician Nikki Haley had made about him being anti-Israel. As Massie explained that Haley never read bills he voted on about Israel, Bolduan directed his attention to a pro-Israel resolution titled “Reaffirming the State of Israel’s right to exist” that he had opposed.

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Bolduan began to say, “Recognizing that denying Israel’s right to exist is a form of antisemitism. You do not support … ” but was quickly interrupted by Massie who said, “That’s the name of the resolution; congratulations, you’re able to read the name of the resolution. I don’t vote on the names,” (via Fox News). The journalist confidently questioned whether the congressman was maligning her intelligence. Massie confirmed that he wasn’t taking a shot at the interviewer’s intellect, but rather felt that she was unprepared for their discussion. The journalist received what the congressman said to her, but made it clear that she dislikes “when someone even suggests or insinuates that I’m not prepared.”

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In September 2024, Vivek Ramaswamy — who had dropped out of the presidential race and threw his support behind Trump, and who is friends with JD Vance — joined Kate Bolduan on CNN to discuss the candidates’ policies. Ramaswamy spent his time disapproving of Vice President Harris’ stances. “[I]f we’re able to use Kamala Harris’ own words against her, as I believe we should, she ran for president favoring a tax on unrealized capital gains, favoring an abolition — her words — to abolish private health insurance, a ban on fracking, bans on offshore drilling,” he said while advocating for Harris to be more in the media’s spotlight (via Mediaite). “These are the kinds of policies that absolutely are not mainstream for most Americans.”

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Bolduan hit back, explaining to Ramaswamy that Harris’ support for certain policies had changed, which was publicized by the media. “On banning fracking, she has made clear, and she did in the interview with Dana Bash, that she does not support that anymore,” the journalist started to say, but she was interrupted by her interviewee who was looking to give a response. “I understand, but I’m going to ask the question, then you can totally answer,” the CNN journalist shot back before finishing her point. Maybe Ramaswamy has seen how firm Bolduan can get, or he just decided to be respectful, as he then waited for her to finish her thought before chiming in.

One of Kate Bolduan’s tensest live moments was during an interview with retired Republican politician Corey Stewart in 2017. The two were in conversation about a controversial interview with Steve Bannon, when Stewart redirected the topic to focus on the (then) violence in Charlottesville, while majorly blaming the Democratic party. He later shifted his opinion, placing the blame on representatives from both parties. “There were some groups there, the KKK and Neo-Nazis but there were also normal people … Once the rally began, you had this far-left group, this violent group … They were out to start a fight. They got the fight,” he stated (via Mediaite).

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The journalist presented a different perspective to the former politician, and before long, the two were speaking over each other. When Bolduan had enough of the tit-for-tat game, she boldly told Stewart, “I’m the anchor of the show, I’m asking the question … Stop talking. Stop talking. You are the guest on my show.” She did, however, note that she wanted the conversation to remain respectful. But as the conversation continued, it deteriorated when Stewart asked, “Can I have a chance to respond. I am a guest on your show. Presumably, you brought me here to respond, right,” as the two continued to speak simultaneously. To which Bolduan responded, “Corey, let’s be adults.” Bolduan clearly won’t let anyone walk all over her!

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