CNN condemned the White House after officials attacked senior correspondent Kristen Holmes following her questions to President Trump at an Oval Office event. Holmes asked about a Jon Ossoff remark and later whether North Korea had urged reductions in joint military exercises. The president responded by mocking her, calling her "fake news" and repeatedly telling her to be quiet, while the White House’s Rapid Response account posted personal attacks. CNN and colleagues defended Holmes and criticized the posts as inconsistent with a free press.
CNN Rebukes White House After Personal Attacks On Reporter Kristen Holmes During Oval Office Event
CNN Senior White House Correspondent Kristen Holmes asks a question to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt during the daily press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., on July 7, 2025. —Andrew Harnik—Getty Images
CNN sharply criticized the White House after officials launched personal attacks against one of the network’s senior correspondents following an exchange at a presidential event. In a statement posted on X, the network defended Kristen Holmes and called the White House posts "beneath the office" and inconsistent with the principles of a free press.
What Happened
The incident unfolded during an Oval Office event honoring a teenage lifeguard who rescued a 10-year-old boy in Santa Cruz, California. While the event focused on the honoree, reporters routinely use such opportunities to ask the president about other news. Holmes asked President Donald Trump to respond to a remark attributed to Senator Jon Ossoff and later sought an answer about whether North Korea’s leader had asked the president to scale back U.S.-South Korea military exercises.
Holmes: "Jon Ossoff said that you'd rather travel with your aide Natalie Harp and build the ballroom than do your job as President. What is your response?"
Trump: "You mean Pee-wee Herman? Pee-wee Herman lookalike? No, I would much rather do other things. We're building a great facility here. We're fixing a White House that hasn't been taken care of."
When Holmes later asked about Kim Jong Un and possible requests to scale back exercises, the president did not answer the substantive question and instead repeatedly told her to "be quiet," called her "fake news," and questioned which outlet she represented.
Trump: "You're a loud, boisterous person. You're fake news. Be quiet. Be quiet. Be quiet. You're a fake reporter and you report fake news."
White House Social Media Posts
The White House Rapid Response account on X shared clips of Holmes' question and posted sharply worded attacks calling her "a disgraceful, humiliating embarrassment to her alleged profession" and later making a personal attack that referenced her children. CNN and multiple colleagues condemned those posts as unacceptable and inconsistent with a free press.
Responses From CNN And Colleagues
CNN’s statement said Holmes "is one of the most respected and accomplished journalists covering the White House" and that the network "stands firmly behind Kristen and rejects these attacks in the strongest possible terms." Colleagues including Alayna Treene and Betsy Klein publicly defended Holmes and criticized the White House’s personal language and the decision to bring her family into the dispute.
Context
Observers say the episode fits a broader pattern of the president and some administration officials attacking news organizations and individual reporters. Trump popularized the label "fake news" to describe coverage he dislikes, and the White House has maintained a so-called "Media Bias Portal" that lists reporters, outlets and stories it views as unfavorable to the president. Several CNN stories, including some by Holmes, appear on that site.
Why It Matters: Personal attacks on journalists for doing their job raise concerns about press freedom and the norms of public discourse. News organizations and press advocates argue that officials should be able to challenge reporting but not launch personal attacks that intimidate or demean members of the press.
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