President Donald Trump launched a scathing attack Wednesday, June 25, against CNN correspondent Natasha Bertrand, demanding her immediate termination following her reporting on intelligence assessments regarding U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Trump posted on Truth Social that Bertrand “should be FIRED from CNN! I watched her for three days doing Fake News. She should be IMMEDIATELY reprimanded, and then thrown out ‘like a dog.'” The president’s outburst came after Bertrand and her colleagues reported on a Defense Intelligence Agency assessment suggesting the weekend strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites did not achieve total destruction of the country’s nuclear program.
The controversy stems from CNN’s exclusive reporting on Tuesday, June 24, on an early U.S. intelligence assessment indicating that strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities likely set back the country’s nuclear program by only months rather than completely destroying it. Bertrand, along with Katie Bo Lillis and Zachary Cohen, broke the story, citing sources familiar with the preliminary Pentagon assessment.
Multiple major news organizations, including The New York Times, Associated Press, Reuters, ABC News, and NBC News, subsequently confirmed similar findings. The intelligence assessment directly contradicted Trump’s repeated claims that the military operation resulted in “total obliteration” of Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
In his Wednesday Truth Social post, Trump accused Bertrand of lying about both the nuclear sites story and her previous reporting on Hunter Biden’s laptop while at Politico in 2020. He claimed she was attempting to destroy the reputation of military pilots who conducted the strikes, asserting they did excellent work and achieved complete success.
Trump continued his attack by stating that Bertrand should not be allowed to work at CNN, describing her as having destroyed the network’s reputation. He also made personal comments about her on-camera presence, suggesting she lacked the necessary qualifications for television correspondence.
CNN immediately responded with a strong defense of its correspondent and the reporting. The network issued a statement saying it stands “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.” The network emphasized that their reporting clearly indicated this was an initial finding that could change with additional intelligence.
The news organization stressed that it had extensively covered Trump’s own skepticism about the intelligence assessment. CNN argued that criticizing reporters for accurately reporting the existence of the assessment and characterizing its findings was unreasonable, particularly given the public interest in such information.
While at a NATO summit press conference Wednesday, Trump addressed the controversy directly, telling reporters they should be proud of the B-2 pilots rather than attempting to demean them. He claimed the pilots were devastated by the intelligence reports and suggested the media was trying to make them look bad.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed Trump’s criticism at the same press conference, accusing the press of trying to spin the airstrike outcome for political reasons to hurt Trump and the country. Trump subsequently announced that Hegseth would hold a Thursday morning news conference at the Pentagon to defend the dignity of American pilots.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared to confirm the existence of the intelligence assessment in a Tuesday statement while disputing its findings. However, the administration has simultaneously attacked CNN for reporting on the assessment’s existence. Leavitt later criticized Bertrand specifically, suggesting she had been used by people opposed to Trump.
The White House issued a press release Wednesday titled “Iran’s Nuclear Facilities Have Been Obliterated — and Suggestions Otherwise are Fake News.” The release included a Defense Intelligence Agency statement describing the assessment as preliminary and low-confidence, while announcing an investigation into the unauthorized disclosure of classified information.
Trump also targeted other news organizations, particularly The New York Times, claiming they were working together with CNN to demean successful military operations. He characterized both outlets as attempting to make the country look bad rather than celebrating military achievements.
During the NATO press conference, Trump called on CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, telling her the network should emphasize how great American soldiers and warriors are. Collins responded that everyone appreciates the military before proceeding with her questions about the intelligence assessment.
Bertrand has covered national security and Pentagon affairs for CNN since joining the network in April 2021. She previously worked at Politico for two years, covering similar beats, and before that worked at The Atlantic and Business Insider on national security topics.
The controversy represents the latest escalation in Trump’s ongoing conflicts with major news organizations over their coverage of his administration’s military actions and foreign policy decisions. The president has consistently labeled unfavorable coverage as “fake news” while demanding personnel changes at news organizations.
