CNN slams Trump for criticizing reporter as tensions escalate

The Herald Scotland

26-06-2025

"She lied on the Laptop from Hell Story, and now she lied on the Nuclear Sites Story, attempting to destroy our Patriot Pilots by making them look bad when, in fact, they did a GREAT job and hit 'pay dirt' -- TOTAL OBLITERATION!" Trump said in the post.
The president's comments come as Bertrand and CNN reported June 25 that the U.S. strikes on three of Iran's nuclear facilities last weekend did not destroy the country's nuclear program. Instead, they reported that it simply set the country's capabilities back by months.
It appears that Trump's "laptop from hell" comments were referring to Bertrand's 2020 story for Politico that suggested that the laptop controversy surrounding former President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, was a case of Russian disinformation.
While unleashing against the network in his comments, Trump said Bertrand "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!" Trump continued.
But CNN pushed back on Trump's claims, defending Bertrand, her reporting and the network's talent roster. "We stand 100% behind Natasha Bertand's journalism and specifically her and her colleagues' reporting of the U.S. attack on Iran's nuclear facilities," the company's PR team wrote in a statement posted to X on June 25. "CNN's reporting made clear that this was an initial finding that could change with additional intelligence."
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"We have extensively covered President Trump's own deep skepticism about it," the network said. "However, 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."
Before she joined CNN in April 2021, Bertrand covered national security and politics for two years at Politico. Previously, she covered the same beat at The Atlantic and Business Insider.
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As CNN has attempted to neutralize its coverage of Trump during his second term, the president himself has ramped up his attacks on the network's reporting staff in recent weeks.
On June 23, Trump unleashed on CNN's star anchor Anderson Cooper. Trump lashed out on Truth Social, calling the "AC360" host "Allison Cooper" and slamming what he referred to as "fake news" organizations that "would say anything different in order to try and demean, as much as possible" in their stories about U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
In his post, Trump also slammed "Dumb Brian L. Roberts, Chairman of 'Con'cast, Jonny Karl of ABC Fake News, and always, the Losers of, again, Concast's NBC Fake News," referring to Comcast chairman Roberts and ABC News' chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl.