Donald Trump has said some pretty mean things about CNN over the years, including denouncing them as the “enemy of the people” and “fake news.” This week, the president has taken a fierce and personal shot at CNN anchor Anderson Cooper.
It started when Trump ordered the attack, Saturday night, on Iran’s nuclear sites. Trump proclaimed, not long after, that the sites had been destroyed. At the same time, the Pentagon has used language that is not quite that strong, and much of the reporting so far about the status of the sites has been something along the lines of the image being extensive. Still, it’s too early to tell whether the sites have been completely destroyed.
Trump, on Truth Social, expressed anger that anyone had been the slightest bit skeptical, declaring that “the sites that we hit in Iran were totally destroyed, and everyone knows it. Only the Fake News would say anything different in order to try and demean, as much as possible — And even they say they were ‘pretty well destroyed!'”
Trump makes a homophobic attack on Anderson Cooper, calling him “Allison Cooper” pic.twitter.com/berwJc3Po4
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 23, 2025
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The president went on to attack various media figures, including Cooper, whom he for some reason dismissed as “Allison Cooper.” The complete statement was: “Working especially hard on this falsehood is Allison Cooper of Fake News CNN, Dumb Brian L. Roberts, Chairman of “Con”cast, Jonny Karl of ABC Fake News, and always, the Losers of, again, Concast’s NBC Fake News.”
Journalist Aaron Rupar called the “Allison” crack “a homophobic attack” on Cooper, who is openly gay.
It’s not clear precisely what Cooper said or reported that upset Trump. CNN did some reporting on the status of the Iranian nuclear sites, including satellite imagery and interviews with experts. It does not appear that CNN or any Western media organizations have reporters on the ground in Iran, much less near the nuclear sites. However, five reporters have their bylines on that story, none of whom are Anderson Cooper.
Cooper, for his part, is reporting from Israel, and was forced to evacuate his broadcast position, along with reporters Clarissa Ward and Jeremy Diamond, and went on to resume the broadcast from a bomb shelter:
CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Clarissa Ward, and Jeremy Diamond evacuate after receiving a 10-minute warning of an incoming missile in Tel Aviv, Israel. pic.twitter.com/h0MfOjwcXj
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) June 23, 2025
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
