CNN Says White House’s Personal Attacks On Kristen Holmes Are “Beneath The Office” After Trump Fumed Over Her Questions

Donald Trump fumed at CNN‘s Kristen Holmes as she tried to ask him about his communications with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un.

In the Oval Office on Monday, Trump had been defending his relationship with Kim, saying that “I understand him. He understands.” The president posted on Truth Social on Sunday that he was ordering the military to reduce joint military exercises with South Korea.

Holmes attempted to ask a follow up, but Trump lashed out at her. “Quiet, quiet. You’re very disrespectful in front of this young man.”

The president gestured at Nathaniel Rai, a 10-year-old who was rescued from rough surf in Santa Cruz by lifeguard Ryder Williams, who sat across from him in the Oval Office.

“Okay, don’t you find her disrespectful?” Trump said to the boy. “He understands. Quiet.”

Trump asked Holmes which outlet she was with. When she said CNN, he said, “Fake news. You’re fake news. You’re a loud, boisterous person. You’re fake news. Be quiet…You’re a fake reporter, and you report fake news.”

Holmes is CNN’s senior White House correspondent.

Earlier in the Oval Office availability, Holmes had asked Trump about a comment made by Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), who in a speech over the weekend said that the president would rather travel with his aide, Natalie Harp, and build the White House ballroom, than do his job as president.

“What is your response?” Holmes asked.

Trump called Ossoff a “Pee Wee Herman lookalike” before defending the ballroom.

The White House’s rapid response account, though, blasted Holmes and called her “a disgraceful, humiliating embarrassment to her alleged profession. @POTUS hosts a hero lifeguard in the Oval Office and she uses it as an opportunity to take a cheap shot about one of President Trump’s staffer.”

In another post, the White House wrote to Holmes, “Someday, your children will come across your disgusting and inhumane question. They will be sickened and embarrassed to have a parent be so callous and vindictive. It’s quite troubling.”

The network said in a statement, “Kristen Holmes is one of the most respected and accomplished journalists covering the White House. This afternoon, she did her job and asked the President of the United States a tough, relevant and newsworthy question on behalf of the American people. Public officials are free to challenge reporting they disagree with, but personal attacks on journalists for asking question are beneath the office and inconsistent with the principles of a free press. We stand firmly behind Kristen and reject these attacks in the strongest possible terms.”

Trump said that the North Korean leader had responded to his request to have a conversation. ” get along with him. He didn’t like Biden. He didn’t like Obama. He didn’t like anybody. But I get along with him very well.” He criticized South Korea, the U.S. ally, for not helping with the war with Iran.

President Trump says the reported issues with the USS Lincoln is a "CNN fake report" and that he talked to a retired admiral with acquaintances on the Lincoln, who tell him it is "beautifully maintained and beautifully taken care of." pic.twitter.com/AG4SKTvlmq