President Donald Trump reiterated on Thursday that the “fake news reporters” at CNN and the New York Times should be fired immediately, continuing his war of words this week with the journalists who have refuted his claims about Iran.
On Wednesday, CNN released a statement in support of journalist Natasha Bertrand after she was specifically called out and criticized by Trump for her coverage of his administration’s attack on Iran’s nuclear sites this past weekend. The newsroom’s steadfast support of Bertrand did not dissuade Trump from once again calling on CNN and NYT to fire their so-called “fake news” reporters.
“FAKE NEWS REPORTERS FROM CNN & THE NEW YORK TIMES SHOULD BE FIRED, IMMEDIATELY!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “BAD PEOPLE WITH EVIL INTENTIONS!!!”
Trump and members of his administration have claimed that America’s bombing of Iran completely destroyed the country’s nuclear capabilities and facilities. Bertrand’s coverage, however, contradicted the president. Pulling information from a leaked report from the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency, she reported that Trump’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear site had caused minor damage, left Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium intact and only set the country’s nuclear ambitions back by a few months.
In response, Trump blasted Bertrand, writing Wednesday on Truth Social, “She should not be allowed to work at Fake News CNN. It’s people like her who destroyed the reputation of a once great Network. Her slant was so obviously negative, besides, she doesn’t have what it takes to be an on camera correspondent, not even close. FIRE NATASHA!”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt similarly lambasted CNN’s coverage of the bombing, calling the reporting “flat-out wrong.”
“The leaking of this alleged assessment is a clear attempt to demean President Trump, and discredit the brave fighter pilots who conducted a perfectly executed mission to obliterate Iran’s nuclear program,” Leavitt wrote on X. “Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000-pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration.”
CNN was swift in its response to Trump’s social media rant. “We stand 100% behind Natasha Bertrand’s journalism and specifically her and her colleagues’ reporting of the early intelligence assessment of the U.S. attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities,” a spokesperson for the network said in a statement.
Bertrand and fellow CNN reporters Katie Bo Lillis and Zachary Cohen’s coverage notably mentioned that the DIA’s initial analysis was subject to change, but the journalists still refuted the Trump administration’s claims that Iran’s nuclear facilities had been completely destroyed. A Tuesday report by the New York Times, which featured contributions from six of its reporters, echoed Bertrand & Co.’s details of the initial leaked DIA report.
Israel, meanwhile, released an assessment of the attack with findings that more closely aligned with Trump’s point of view about the mission.
“CNN’s reporting made clear that this was an initial finding that could change with additional intelligence. We have extensively covered President Trump’s own deep skepticism about it,” CNN’s statement noted on Wednesday. “We do not believe it is reasonable to criticize CNN reporters for accurately reporting the existence of the assessment and accurately characterizing its findings, which are in the public interest.”
