President Donald Trump has launched a sustained attack against CNN national security correspondent Natasha Bertrand, demanding her termination following her reporting on U.S. intelligence assessments of recent military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.
The controversy began when CNN reported on June 24 that an early U.S. intelligence assessment suggested the weekend strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities did not destroy the core components of the country’s nuclear program and likely only set it back by months. The report cited a preliminary assessment produced by the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency.
Other major news outlets, including The New York Times, Associated Press, and ABC News, subsequently matched CNN’s reporting with similar findings. However, Trump has insisted that the military strikes resulted in the total obliteration of Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
On Wednesday, Trump posted on Truth Social that Bertrand “should be IMMEDIATELY reprimanded, and then thrown out ‘like a dog,'” specifically targeting her role in the reporting. He accused her of lying about both the nuclear sites story and her previous reporting on Hunter Biden’s laptop in 2020, when she covered intelligence officials’ assessment that the laptop story had characteristics of a Russian information operation.
Trump further criticized Bertrand’s professional capabilities, stating she lacks what it takes to be an on-camera correspondent and claiming she has damaged CNN’s reputation. He also alleged that her reporting attempted to make American pilots look bad when they had performed excellently.
CNN responded with a strong defense of its reporter, stating the network stands 100 percent behind Bertrand’s journalism and specifically her colleagues’ reporting of the early intelligence assessment. The network emphasized that its reporting clearly indicated this was an initial finding that could change with additional intelligence, and that it had extensively covered Trump’s skepticism about the assessment.
The network stated it does not believe criticism of its reporters is reasonable when they accurately report the existence of assessments and characterize their findings, which serve the public interest. Bertrand was one of three CNN reporters with bylines on the story, alongside Katie Bo Lillis and Zachary Cohen.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt escalated the attacks during a Thursday press briefing, spending nearly two minutes criticizing Bertrand. Leavitt accused the CNN reporter of publishing false narratives and suggested she should be ashamed of herself, describing her as being used by people who dislike Trump to push fake information.
The administration has issued legal threats against both CNN and The New York Times over their reporting. Both news organizations received letters from Trump’s attorney threatening lawsuits as a result of their coverage of the preliminary assessment. The letter to The New York Times called the reporting false, defamatory, and unpatriotic while demanding retractions and apologies.
The New York Times rejected the demands, with deputy general counsel David McCraw responding that no retraction was needed and no apology would be forthcoming, stating the newspaper told the truth to the best of its ability.
During a NATO summit on Wednesday, Trump acknowledged that intelligence about the strikes was inconclusive, telling reporters the intelligence indicated uncertainty about the severity of damage. However, he maintained that additional intelligence and eyewitness accounts suggested complete destruction of the nuclear sites.
The Pentagon has provided varying assessments of the damage. Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed during a Wednesday briefing that the military believes the strikes at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan facilities were completely taken out, and that intelligence assessments suggest Iran’s nuclear program was degraded by one to two years.
The White House issued a press release titled “Iran’s Nuclear Facilities Have Been Obliterated” citing various sources, including Israeli Defense Forces officials and Iranian Foreign Ministry statements. However, some Israeli officials cautioned that their assessments were preliminary and too early to determine definitively.
Several CNN colleagues have expressed support for Bertrand amid the attacks. Anchor Jake Tapper described her as an excellent reporter and criticized the administration’s approach of attacking messengers. Chief media correspondent Brian Stelter noted that personal attacks against professional reporters reflect more on the Trump White House than on CNN.
The controversy represents the latest escalation in Trump’s ongoing conflict with major news organizations over coverage of his administration’s military actions and intelligence assessments.