A Trump administration official melted down on social media after watching a live CNN report from Iran that he labeled “propaganda.”
Frederik Pleitgen, CNN’s senior international correspondent, is 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 buildings, thick black smoke and checkpoints with armed personnel, Pleitgen said they had not witnessed “any sign of order collapsing here.”
Pleitgen added that “all the shops are open and really well-stocked, even with fresh things like fruits and vegetables.” Filming himself outside of a gas station, he 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 Johnson, who 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 CNN and 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.”
Johnson’s role is to oversee the State Department’s “strategic communications, public messaging and engagement with domestic and international media.”
Before joining the White House, he 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 intensified, with 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 force, no 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 this, which 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 killed, all in a single Iranian drone strike on a military facility in Kuwait.
