Dana Bash refuses to read Trump's CNN insult while quoting Truth Social post
CNN anchor Dana Bash refused to read a disparaging reference to her network while quoting a Truth Social post from President Donald Trump on Tuesday.
Trump's Truth Social post said, "It is very important that all Republicans adhere to my Recissions [sic] Bill and, in particular, DEFUND THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING (PBS and NPR), which is worse than CNN & MSDNC put together. Any Republican that votes to allow this monstrosity to continue broadcasting will not have my support or Endorsement."
Bash read the whole thing aloud on "Inside Politics," except for the phrase "which is worse than CNN & MSDNC put together." Instead, she said, "I'm not even going to read that," and skipped it.
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Bash’s comments came as the U.S. Senate was set to vote on President Donald Trump’s $9 billion rescission package, a bill set to cut over $1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the government-backed funding arm for NPR and PBS.
Trump has threatened to pull federal funding for NPR and PBS and signed an executive order to slash taxpayer funds for the organizations in May.
The president has also repeatedly attacked CNN, saying in February, "Nobody watches CNN anymore, because they have no credibility."
Earlier this month, Trump revealed that he and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem were looking into ways to prosecute CNN for its reporting on an app that allows users to track ICE agents. He added the network could face prosecution for "having given false reports on the attack in Iran," after it claimed U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities "did not destroy" the country’s nuclear program.
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Bash has pushed back on Trump in the past on her show as well, addressing some of his comments against CNN on air.
Speaking about border numbers dropping, Trump said in April, "Well, they get out, but the fake news, like CNN over here, doesn't want to put them out because they don’t like putting out good numbers … because I think they hate our country, actually."
"I just want to say for the record, since we heard President Trump say in the Oval Office that CNN hates our country. CNN does not hate our country. That should go without saying. I’ve been here for 32 years, and I see a rhetorical device in him trying to — to say such a thing," Bash said in response.