A Trump administration official melted down on social media after watching a live CNN report from Iran that he labeled “propaganda.”
Frederik PleitgenCNN’s senior international correspondentis reporting from the Middle Eastern country targeted in President Donald Trump’s latest war.
He filed an update on Thursday while on a coffee stop as he and his producer were driving to Tehran. While he and his crew had seen destroyed buildingsthick black smoke and checkpoints with armed personnelPleitgen said they had not witnessed “any sign of order collapsing here.”
Pleitgen added that “all the shops are open and really well-stockedeven with fresh things like fruits and vegetables.” Filming himself outside of a gas stationhe also said there were “no long lines” and fuel seemed to be “readily available.” He added: “You just don’t see any sort of degree of panic anywhere.”
That angered Dylan Johnsonwho has been the assistant secretary of state for global public affairs since Jan. 30. Johnson shared a 30-second clip of the report on X with the caption“CNN appears to now be doing straight up pro-Iran regime propaganda because someone gave this guy a coffee...”
The Daily Beast has contacted the State Department for comment.
A spokesperson for the State Department told NPR of Johnson’s post“We encourage media outlets to verify information with official U.S. government sources before publication.”
A spokesperson for CNN told the Daily Beast: “The role of journalism is to bear witness to events as they occurto report out to audiences factually what a reporter is seeingwithout agenda and with context. Being able to do this from on the ground inside Iran during this conflict is of particular importance.”
They said Pleitgen is “providing valuable insight for CNN’s audiencesadding to our wider reporting that features multiple perspectives from civiliansopposition voicesas well as officialsalongside raw photos and video capturing what Iran is like today.”
The spokesperson added“Each report also provides full transparent disclosure that the team is reporting from inside Iran with government permission.”
Johnson’s role is to oversee the State Department’s “strategic communicationspublic messaging and engagement with domestic and international media.”
Before joining the White Househe worked as deputy communications director for Trump’s 2024 campaign.
CNN is the first U.S. network allowed into Iran since Trump surprised the country with military strikes on Feb. 28. The attacks from the U.S. and Israel have intensifiedwith Iran carrying out retaliatory strikes.
CNN clarified on Thursday that the network operates in Iran only with “government permission.”
Trump said on Thursday that Iran is being demolished “ahead of schedule and at levels people have never seen before”and claimed the country now has “no air forceno air defense.”
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth claimed the U.S. military response is preparing for a new phase of attacks against Iran.
“Iran is hoping that we cannot sustain thiswhich is a really bad miscalculation,” Hegseth said on Thursday. “We set the timeline.”
Trump’s military action has reportedly cost the American taxpayer an estimated $5 billion. Six American service members have also been killedall in a single Iranian drone strike on a military facility in Kuwait.
