White House Escalates War Of Words With “Sh*tty” CNN Over Iran Coverage: “CNN Is Lying to Undermine Operation Epic Fury’s Crushing Success”

Pete Hegseth

Pete Hegseth Getty Images

Like a mad dog with a bone, the Trump administration won’t or can’t let it go with CNN today over the cable news channel’s coverage of the ongoing war with Iran.

“Fake News CNN is at it again,” proclaims a missive just put out by the White House mere hours after former Fox News host Pete Hegseth blew his brylcreamed top at CNN over the state of the Strait of Hormuz.  

Earlier Friday, in-house brawler (and Communications Director) Steven Cheung just went straight for a kick between the legs and called the potentially soon-to-be David Ellison and Paramount-owned CNN a “sh*tty outlet.”

The language was a bit more white gloved in the official White House release, but the sentiment was unchanged.

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While U.S. forces deliver crushing blows to obliterate Iran’s terrorist regime, CNN’s hack ‘journalists’ are peddling Democrat-sourced fiction to undermine our decisive victories in Operation Epic Fury,” the Friday afternoon outrage dump from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue added.

Lathering up Donald Trump’s “bold and resolute leadership,” even as oil prices spike, markets roller coaster, missiles fly in every direction in the Middle East and Ukrainian war sanctions against Russia are being lifted, the White House insists the nearly two week-long war is going peachy. “No amount of CNN hackery will change that,” the administration states, citing its own staff and sycophantic Senators as proof of how well organized the White House plans to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program and murderous regime are going.

The release put out by the White House is on the heels of barbed posts by top aide Cheung and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt against CNN and several other outlets.

When @ZcohenCNN is on the byline, you know it’s FAKE NEWS. His unnamed sources are former Obama and Biden people, Iranian Regime sympathizers, low-level Democrat staffers on the Hill, and liberal donors/activists. https://t.co/LIG43MvnEc

— Steven Cheung (@StevenCheung47) March 13, 2026

Yes 100%. When Fake News outlets like CNN publishes verifiably false information, it is completely appropriate to comment on how shitty outlets are run. https://t.co/q9YZiUL9Mz

— Steven Cheung (@StevenCheung47) March 13, 2026

Or as Hegseth put it of longtime thorn in Trump’s paw CNN in this morning’s contentious  Pentagon briefing (saying the not so-quiet party line thing out loud to score points with the boss): “The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.”

Read the latest of this week’s numerous jabs and rock thows against CNN from Team Trump below:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
03/13/26
CNN Is Lying to Undermine Operation Epic Fury’s Crushing SuccessFake News CNN is at it again. While U.S. forces deliver crushing blows to obliterate Iran’s terrorist regime, CNN’s hack “journalists” are peddling Democrat-sourced fiction to undermine our decisive victories in Operation Epic Fury.

CNN alleged the Pentagon and the National Security Council “did not plan” for Iran’s willingness to close the Strait of Hormuz.Wrong. 
As Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has made crystal clear, the military has planned for this exact contingency for decades. Operation Epic Fury is deliberately designed to annihilate Iran’s navy, missiles, drones, and launch capabilities precisely to eliminate any meaningful threat to global shipping lanes like the Strait of Hormuz — and thanks to President Trump’s commitment to energy dominance, America is fully prepared to crush short-term disruption and emerge stronger than ever.

CNN further alleged “top Trump officials acknowledged” this to lawmakers in a classified briefing.Wrong. 
Actual briefing participants torched this lie:
Sen. Tom Cotton: “As Chairman of the Intelligence Committee, let me make clear: whoever leaked this lied. CNN should do some fact-checking. The U.S. has planned for Iran to try to close the strait for decades.”
Sen. Tim Sheehy: “I received a classified briefing from the administration. It is categorically false that they did not plan for Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz. Lawmakers and national security officials have known for years that this was Iran’s plan once their backs were against the wall.”

Under President Trump’s bold and resolute leadership, Operation Epic Fury continues to advance its clear objectives: destroying Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal and production capacity, obliterating its navy, severing its support for its terrorist proxies, and ensuring the regime can never threaten the free world with nuclear weapons.

No amount of CNN hackery will change that.

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