BURSTPresident Trump on Wednesday called for the firing of CNN correspondent Natasha Bertrand, who reported on air an internal U.S. intelligence assessment that found Saturday’s strikes on Iranian nuclear sites set back Tehran's nuclear program by only a few months.
"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 wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Bertrand, the president argued, was "attempting to destroy our Patriot Pilots by making them look bad."
Trump earlier on Wednesday said that the preliminary classified U.S. report wasn’t complete while members of his administration vowed to investigate the leaked assessment, which was also reported on by the New York Times, Washington Post and others.
But the president took particular issue with Bertrand's reporting, writing in his social media post that "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," he continued. "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!"
Trump and his administration have doubled down on earlier rhetoric suggesting the nuclear enrichment sites were "totally destroyed" in the strikes, while pushing Israel's assessment that the attacks would delay the nuclear program by at least a few years.
The Hill has contacted CNN for comment.