President Donald Trump suggested CNN and The New York Times will fire reporters following "fake stories" concerning U.S. airstrikes aimed at Iran's nuclear facilities last weekend.
The two media outlets ran stories suggesting the airstrikes did not destroy the core components of Iran's nuclear program and likely only set it back by months.
On Wednesday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said a body of credible intelligence indicated that Iran's nuclear program was severely damaged by recent U.S. strikes, and that it would take years to be rebuilt.
Trump took to Truth Social on Thursday morning to comment on CNN and the Times.
"Rumor is that the Failing New York Times and Fake News CNN will be firing the reporters who made up the FAKE stories on the Iran Nuclear sites because they got it so wrong. Lets see what happens?" Trump posted.
After Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan "Razin" Caine held a Thursday morning press conference to discuss the damage done by the airstrikes at the Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan uranium enrichment facilities, Trump again took to his social media platform.
"One of the greatest, most professional, and most 'confirming' News Conferences I have ever seen! The Fake News should fire everyone involved in this Witch Hunt, and apologize to our great warriors, and everyone else!" Trump posted on Truth Social.
On Tuesday night, Trump accused CNN and The New York Times of joining forces to "demean" the Operation Midnight Hammer strikes on the nuclear facilities.
The president, in an all-capital-letters post on his Truth Social page Tuesday night, insisted that "FAKE NEWS CNN, TOGETHER WITH THE FAILING NEW YORK TIMES, HAVE TEAMED UP IN AN ATTEMPT TO DEMEAN ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL MILITARY STRIKES IN HISTORY. THE NUCLEAR SITES IN IRAN ARE COMPLETELY DESTROYED! BOTH THE TIMES AND CNN ARE GETTING SLAMMED BY THE PUBLIC!"
CNN and the Times had reported that an early assessment was produced by the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency, and that the assessment found the strikes only set the Iranian nuclear program back by months.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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