CNN Stands by Natasha Bertrand ‘100%' After Trump Calls on Network to Fire Her Over Iran Coverage
CNN released a statement defending journalist Natasha Betrand's report that the U.S.'s attack on Iran's nuclear facilities last week cause minimal damage to the country's nuclear program after President Trump called on the network to fire her.
The report, according to CNN, came from Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon's intelligence arm. The Trump administration, on the other hand, said the attack was successful and caused a 'total obliteration' of the facilities. Trump doubled down on his stance by referring to CNN's report as 'fake news' and calling on the network to fire her.
pic.twitter.com/WmM0MYBjkn
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) June 25, 2025
'Natasha 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,'' Trump posted to Truth Social on Wednesday. '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!'
The president continued: '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!'
More to come…
The post CNN Stands by Natasha Bertrand '100%' After Trump Calls on Network to Fire Her Over Iran Coverage appeared first on TheWrap.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
7 minutes ago
- CBS News
Intel leaders say new intelligence shows Iran's nuclear sites could take "years" to rebuild
The heads of two key American intelligence agencies issued statements Wednesday on what they said was "new" intelligence on the damage resulting from the recent U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, each noting the Iranian program was likely to have been set back by "years." The statements were released after President Trump decried a leaked, preliminary assessment produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency that said Tehran's nuclear program had only been pushed back by a matter of months. Mr. Trump had ordered airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities late Saturday, adding to a more than weeklong Israeli campaign against targets in Iran. CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement Wednesday that "a body of credible intelligence indicates Iran's Nuclear Program has been severely damaged by the recent, targeted strikes." "This includes new intelligence from a historically reliable and accurate source/method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years," Ratcliffe's statement said. It added the agency would continue to collect "additional reliably sourced information" to share with policy makers, and, when possible, to provide updates to the public. A CIA spokesperson declined to elaborate on the intelligence referenced by Ratcliffe's statement, including the confidence level associated with it or whether it included Israeli or other foreign intelligence. Earlier on Wednesday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard also wrote on X that "new intelligence confirms what President Trump has stated numerous times: Iran's nuclear facilities have been destroyed." "If the Iranians chose to rebuild, they would have to rebuild all three facilities (Natanz, Fordow, Esfahan) entirely, which would likely take years to do," Gabbard's statement read. An intelligence official later confirmed to CBS News that the information shared by Gabbard was based on new American intelligence, but declined to specify its confidence level. Neither of the statements directly addressed some of the questions raised by lawmakers and nonproliferation experts in the aftermath of the strikes about what kinds of residual nuclear capabilities Iran may have retained. There are also conflicting views about whether Iranian officials had managed to transport enriched uranium away from the sites before they were bombed. The DIA assessment indicated at least some of the enriched uranium had been moved, according to one source familiar with it. But when asked whether enriched material was successfully moved during a press availability following the NATO summit in the Netherlands on Wednesday, President Trump said, "We think we hit them so hard and so fast, they didn't get to move." The president also said the U.S. and Iran were expected to hold talks "next week." The format remains unclear, for now, but special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff is expected to lead the talks, if they happen, two U.S. officials told CBS News. Witkoff has spoken with the Iranian foreign minister, and recently, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance have also become more involved in the diplomacy, a U.S. and regional diplomat told CBS News. Both Ratcliffe and Gabbard were slated to participate in a classified Senate briefing on Tuesday on the U.S. strikes in Iran, but the session was cancelled and rescheduled for Thursday. The House is expected to be briefed on Friday. It is unclear whether both leaders will still participate in both briefings. Ratcliffe and Gabbard's statements on Wednesday also included criticism of the leak to media outlets of the DIA assessment, which a spokesperson for that agency later said was issued with low confidence and would be refined as additional intelligence becomes available. The initial DIA report said the entrances to two Iranian nuclear sites — including the Fordo facility — were sealed off in the strikes, but that Iran could reconstitute elements of its program once it dug out and made repairs to water and electrical systems, according to sources familiar with it. The assessment also provided a range of possibilities for how long it could take for Iran to regain access to the underground facilities and resume some operations, ranging from a few months to less than a year, one source familiar with the assessment told CBS News. Administration officials have blasted those findings, which are at odds with Mr. Trump's repeated assertions that Saturday night's airstrikes "obliterated" Iran's nuclear facilities. Speaking from the NATO summit, Mr. Trump said the airstrikes set back Iran's program by "basically decades." "They said it could be limited or it could be very severe. They really didn't know," Mr. Trump said of the U.S. intelligence assessments. Appearing alongside the president, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Wednesday the damage to the sites was extensive. "If you want to make an assessment of what happened at Fordo, you'd better get a big shovel and go really deep, because Iran's nuclear program is obliterated," he told reporters. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said in a press availability on Sunday following the strikes that a full battle damage assessment of the strikes "will take some time." He said at the time that the three targets "sustained extremely severe damage and destruction." Hegseth is set to lead a press briefing Thursday morning, which Mr. Trump said "will prove both interesting and irrefutable." , , and contributed to this report.
Wall Street Journal
10 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Trump Criticizes Fed Chair Jerome Powell at NATO Summit
President Trump lashed out at Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, whose term runs for another 11 months, during a press conference at the NATO summit. Photo: Jonas Roosens/ANP/Zuma Press
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Mediator In Trump's CBS Lawsuit Proposes $20 Million Settlement
The mediator in President Donald Trump's lawsuit against CBS and 60 Minutes has proposed a settlement worth $20 million, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, just days after court documents filed by the network called the action 'meritless' and an attack on the First Amendment. The proposal is said to include a $17 million donation to Trump's presidential foundation or museum and $3 million in legal fees and public service announcements on Paramount Global-owned networks to fight antisemitism, the WSJ said, citing people familiar with the situation. The situation is still fluid. Most recently, the Trump team had had asked CBS for a $25 million settlement and an apology. It's not clear if a mea culpa is part of the latest proposal. More from Deadline CNN Says It Stands "100% Behind" Correspondent Natasha Bertrand After Donald Trump Calls For Her Firing 2025 Premiere Dates For New & Returning Series On Broadcast, Cable & Streaming Donald Trump Lashes Out After CNN And Other Outlets Report On Intel That U.S. Bombings Only Set Back Iran's Nuclear Program By A Few Months Trump sued CBS for $20 billion in a Texas court in October claiming deceitful editing of a 60 Minutes interview with Democratic presidential candidate Harris, later revising the suit to claim the newsmagazine violated state and federal laws typically used to pursue false advertising claims. The suit and settlement talks have unfolded with a proposed sale of Paramount Global to Skydance Media under review by the FCC, which is led by Trump appointee and loyalist Brendan Carr. U.S. Senators, California lawmakers and public interest groups have threatened to sue Paramount under anti-bribery statutes if the company agrees to settle and controlling shareholder Shari Redstone is concerned about potential legal liability. Par recently brought in law firm Gibson Dunn to assess whether it could offer more than $15 million without putting its directors and top executives at risk of future litigation or criminal charges. Late last year. Disney's ABC agreed to contribute $15 million to Donald Trump's presidential foundation and museum as part of a settlement reached in Trump defamation case against the network. Last week, Trump praised Skydance CEO David Ellison, telling reporters 'Ellison's great and 'he'll do a great job with it,' referring to the merger. Ellison's father, billionaire Oracle co-founder and CEO Larry Ellison, was a big supporter of Trump in last year's election. A statement to Deadline from a Trump attorney today, however, said the President 'is committed to holding those who traffic in fake news, hoaxes, and lies to account. CBS and Paramount targeted the President in an attempt to harm his reputation while committing the worst kind of election interference and fraud in the closing days of the most important presidential election in history. President Trump will pursue this vital matter to its just and rightful conclusion.' A Paramount spokesperson declined to comment. Best of Deadline Everything We Know About 'My Life With The Walter Boys' Season 2 So Far Everything We Know About The 'Reminders of Him' Movie So Far Everything We Know About The 'Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping' Movie So Far
