The White House has bitterly insulted a top CNN war correspondent’s lighthearted, dance-filled Instagram post.
Rapid Response 47, which has a history of lashing out at CNN reporters, was at it again on Tuesday, targeting the network’s chief international correspondent, Clarissa Ward. This time, though, it wasn’t reporting that the White House took issue with.
In an Instagram video dubbed with the 1978 disco song “Shake Your Groove Thing” by Peaches & Herb, Ward dances in an airport while traveling to her next assignment.
“When you get an assignment that is just good fun…. Feeling PUMPED! Can you tell?" Ward, 46, wrote. “Drinks on me for anyone who can guess what I’m going to cover. Actually, there are some pretty blatant clues in there so you might have to settle for a like.”
Ward added: “✌️and 💗 and remember, if you’re not laughing your ass off and making a tit out of yourself, you’re doing this wrong!!"
For that, the White House tried to scold her.
“Imagine being a self-described ‘serious’ journalist at CNN and acting like a complete freak in public, embarrassing yourself all for some social media clicks. Honey, nobody wants to watch that hot mess,” the account wrote, tagging Ward’s X handle.
Ward, who joined CNN in 2015 after having been a foreign correspondent for Fox, ABC, and CBS, has reported from war zones for some 20 years, including in Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Gaza, Yemen, Ukraine, and Georgia, her CNN bio says. She has won twelve Emmys, two Edward R. Murrow Awards for distinguished journalism, and the National Press Club’s Fourth Estate Award, among many others. A Yale graduate, Ward received an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Middlebury College. She is fluent in French and Italian, knows basic Mandarin, and is conversational in Russian, Arabic and Spanish.
Ward is married and has three children.
The White House’s rapid response post about Ward fits the insult-hurling patterns of Steven Cheung, the Trump administration’s communications director.
Cheung, 44, has no issue calling people “r-----s” and “pieces of s--t,” spreading rumors, telling reporters they are “mentally deficient,” or gloating over the death of Robert Mueller.
Cheung, who is apparently single and has used fat-loss medication, dropped out of California State University and was a spokesperson for the Ultimate Fighting Championship before working on Trump’s 2016, 2020, and 2024 campaigns.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Ward and reps for CNN for comment.
