Trump thrashes CNN as ‘gutless losers’ for coverage of U.S. strikes on Iran

President Donald Trump certainly ripped what he terms “fake news” media outlets a new one on Tuesday morning.

While answering questions about Israel’s war with Iran as he departed the White House, Trump hammered CNN and MSNBC after accusing them of downplaying the success of the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last weekend, calling CNN in particular “scum.”

“You’re gutless losers,” he said. “I say that to CNN because I watch it. I have no choice. I’ve gotta watch that garbage. It’s all garbage. It’s all fake news. But I think CNN is a gutless group of people.”

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The U.S. military on Saturday carried out massive precision strikes on three key nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. Long-range B-2 stealth bomber aircraft dropped 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs on the locations in an attack that Trump called “a spectacular military success.”

“Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated,” Trump stated in an address to the United States that night.

While speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Trump recounted the success of the mission and savaged outlets that questioned whether the three nuclear facilities were destroyed. Trump officials have hailed the mission as a success as experts continue to assess how much Iran’s nuclear ambitions have been set back.

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After one reporter asked if Iran could rebuild its nuclear program, the president said, “That place is demolished. The B-2 pilots did their job. They did it better than anybody could even imagine. They hit late in the evening. It was dark with no moon. And they hit that target with every one of those things. And that place is gone.”

He then mentioned mainstream outlets, saying, “But when I see CNN, all night long, they’re trying to say, ‘Well, maybe it wasn’t really as demolished as we thought.’ It was demolished. You take a look at the pinpricks, and you see that place is gone. And I will say, I think CNN ought to apologize to the pilots of the B-2s. I think that MSDNC [MSNBC] ought to apologize. I think these guys, really – these networks, and these cable networks are real losers. You really are.”

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Trump continued to dig in on CNN and MSNBC, criticizing the former for the changes in the network’s leadership in recent years.

“And the people that run it, nobody even knows, it’s been sold so many times,” Trump said. “But the people that run it ought to be ashamed. MSNDC – a guy named Brian Roberts – he heads it. He’s a disgrace. He’s a weak, pathetic disgrace.”

CNN declined to comment on Trump’s remarks. MSNBC didn’t respond to a request for comment.