Karoline Leavitt Torches CNN Reporter Over Iran Reporting

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt absolutely destroyed CNN reporter Natasha Bertrand for her fake news report about how the bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities was not a complete success.

During the White House press briefing on Thursday, Leavitt called out Bertrand by name and brought the receipts for all the times Leavitt said the CNN reporter had been "used" to push fake news, like how the "Hunter Biden laptop story was Russian disinformation."

The press secretary pointed out that someone leaked only "tidbits" to Bertrand from a "low confidence preliminary intelligence assessment" in order to provide a false picture of the operation in Iran.

.@PressSec: "We have seen this playbook run before... leaked bits and pieces of an intel assessment to push a false narrative. And it's to the same reporter, I will add — @NatashaBertrand of @CNN — who has done this in the past. In 2020, it was Natasha Bertrand who had 51… pic.twitter.com/Dwy75y3HoE
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 26, 2025

"We have seen this playbook run before... leaked bits and pieces of an intel assessment to push a false narrative," Leavitt told the press. "And it's to the same reporter, I will add — Natasha Bertrand of CNN — who has done this in the past."

"In 2020, it was Natasha Bertrand who had 51 intelligence analysts falsely lie to her... that the Hunter Biden laptop story was Russian disinformation," she added. "We all know that's not true, right? We can all agree on that now, that was a lie from the intelligence community."

Leavitt continued:

"Also in 2020, this same reporter, Natasha Bertrand, wrote that a top intel agency ruled out the man-made lab leak theory of the Coronavirus origins. Again, the president was right about that. This reporter wrote a lie from the intelligence community to seek a narrative she wanted to prove, and guess what, we know now that's the truth."

The White House Press Secretary wasn't done after that, mentioning how Bertrand was responsible for the "suckers and losers" hoax of the 2024 Presidential campaign that alleged Trump had demeaned fallen World War I soldiers.

Fact Check Shock: Snopes Backs Trump on ‘Suckers and Losers’ Hoax

Leavitt then wanted to make sure she landed a final blow on Bertrand when she called out the CNN reporter for her fake news last October, when Bertrand published an article in Politico from the intelligence agency.

"She said that John Ratcliffe was speaking without any evidence when he said Iran was attempting to undermine President Trump's presidential campaign," Leavitt stated. "And then, we, of course, found out that was absolutely true. In fact, [former President Joe] Biden's administration declassified an intel report which said 'they had high confidence that Iran had done exactly what Ratcliffe had alleged. They did run an influence campaign to hurt President Trump's candidacy."

"In fact, we know the Iranians tried to take President Trump's life," she added. "So, this is a reporter who has been unfortunately used by people who dislike Donald Trump in this government to push fake and false narratives. She should be ashamed of herself. And that's not what reporting is."

Leavitt's torching of the CNN reporter came amid numerous attempts by the Trump administration to correct the false reporting on the operation to take out Iran's nuclear capabilities.

.@POTUS on the obliteration of the Iranian regime's nuclear facilities: "The pilots did an unbelievable job like nobody's ever seen. They hit paydirt." pic.twitter.com/tN8NoVKB18
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 25, 2025

During a NATO Summit press conference on Tuesday in The Hague, Netherlands, the president called out the legacy media for claiming his statement that airstrikes obliterating the Iranians' nuclear facilities was not true, RedState reported.

"The pilots did an unbelievable job, like nobody's ever seen. They hit paydirt," the President told the press. "They should be admired and respected for what they did. And the Fake News, in order to try to hit me, the Fake News made them look bad. But now they look really good again."

Editor's Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie.

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