President Donald Trump is repeatedly condemning CNN and The New York Times for reports that call into question the damage caused by last weekend\u2019s U.S. strikes of Iran \u2014 and downplaying his own intelligence analysts in the process.<\/p>\n
Trump on Wednesday called on CNN to throw out \u201clike a dog\u201d a reporter who has worked on the story and suggested Times reporters were \u201cbad and sick people\u201d who were attempting to demean American pilots involved in the strikes.<\/p>\n
Both news outlets defended their reporting.<\/p>\n
The president is angry about stories<\/a> that a preliminary assessment by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency had said Saturday\u2019s strike of three nuclear sites had set back Iran\u2019s nuclear program by a few months. The assessment \u201csuggests that President Trump\u2019s claim that Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities were \u2018obliterated\u2019 was overstated,\u201d The Times said in a six-bylined story<\/a> on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n Shortly after the reports began circulating, Trump disputed them, saying in a social media post that the nuclear sites were completely destroyed, and he doubled down on Wednesday.<\/p>\n \u201cThey tried to demean the great works our B-2 pilots did, and they were wrong in doing so,\u201d Trump wrote. \u201cThese reporters are just BAD AND SICK PEOPLE. You would think they would be proud of the great success we had, instead of trying to make our Country look bad.\u201d<\/p>\n Newspaper says Trump\u2019s criticism was fake news<\/p>\n The Times noted that Trump had initially called the report fake news, but he and his national security team subsequently confirmed that the report was produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency.<\/p>\n \u201cSo their statement was fake, not the Times\u2019s reporting,\u201d Times spokesman Charles Stadtlander said. \u201cWe\u2019ll continue to report fully on the administration\u2019s decision-making, including the president\u2019s dispute with the Defense Intelligence Agency, as we did this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump specifically singled out<\/a> CNN reporter Natasha Bertrand and called for her firing. \u201cI watched her for three days doing Fake News,\u201d the president wrote. \u201cShe should be immediately reprimanded, then thrown out \u2018like a dog.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n CNN said that it stood by Bertrand and the network\u2019s reporting. The network has made clear that it was an initial finding that could change with additional intelligence, and reported the president\u2019s own skepticism about what his experts had found.<\/p>\n \u201cWe 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,\u201d the network said in a statement.<\/p>\n Trump amplifies his certainty about Iran strikes<\/p>\n The White House, in its own statement criticizing CNN, called parts of the early defense agency report an \u201cinconclusive, low-confidence intelligence assessment\u201d that was leaked to undermine Trump and pilots who conducted the mission.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000-pound bombs perfectly on their targets: Total Obliteration,\u201d the White House said, repeating the phrase Trump has used repeatedly to describe the mission. The release quoted assessments from different agencies on bomb damage.<\/p>\n In calling patriotism into question, the president and his allies also attempted a strategy used in the past to demean reporters and create doubts about their work. In an interview with CNN\u2019s Kaitlin Collins on Tuesday night, GOP Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullins pushed back against questions on the strike, saying it should be celebrated and not be \u201csomething we are bringing division on.\u201d<\/p>\n Collins replied that it\u2019s her job to ask questions, not to celebrate.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at http:\/\/x.com\/dbauder<\/a> and https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/dbauder.bsky.social<\/a>.<\/p>\n