--- title: CNN Condemns the White House’s Attacks on Journalist Kristen Holmes: Here’s What to Know description: The network’s rebuke came after a question Holmes asked Trump drew a series of critical posts from the White House targeting the journalist. canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/08/18/cnn-white-house-kristen-holmes-journalist-attacks/ author: Chantelle Lee article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-08-18T22:12:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T20:32:30.894Z article:section: Politics og:title: CNN Condemns the White House’s Attacks on Journalist Kristen Holmes: Here’s What to Know og:description: The network’s rebuke came after a question Holmes asked Trump drew a series of critical posts from the White House targeting the journalist. og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/08/18/cnn-white-house-kristen-holmes-journalist-attacks/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc2e566888c9bacd1/6a84d5750d7118944de6dac7/Holmes-Trump-WhiteHouse-CNN.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Holmes-Trump-WhiteHouse-CNN.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: CNN Condemns the White House’s Attacks on Journalist Kristen Holmes: Here’s What to Know twitter:description: The network’s rebuke came after a question Holmes asked Trump drew a series of critical posts from the White House targeting the journalist. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc2e566888c9bacd1/6a84d5750d7118944de6dac7/Holmes-Trump-WhiteHouse-CNN.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # CNN Condemns the White House’s Attacks on Journalist Kristen Holmes: Here’s What to Know > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: CNN Condemns Trump's Attacks on Journalist Kristen Holmes Following Heated Oval Office Response [Watch (HLS stream): CNN Condemns Trump's Attacks on Journalist Kristen Holmes Following Heated Oval Office Response](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/rynvkcE5.m3u8) (0:56)  _Published 2026-08-19. The network’s rebuke came after a question Holmes asked Trump drew a series of critical posts from the White House targeting the journalist._ by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter Aug 18, 2026 10:12 PM UTC by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter Aug 18, 2026 10:12 PM UTC CNN condemned the White House for launching [personal attacks](https://time.com/7337058/trump-female-journalist-attacks-new-york-times-katie-rogers/) on one of the network’s [journalists](https://time.com/7338411/white-house-media-bias-tracker-trump-attacks/). “Kristen Holmes is one of the most respected and accomplished journalists covering the White House,” CNN said of its senior White House correspondent in a statement [shared on X](https://x.com/CNNPR/status/2089441657192099848) on Monday. “This afternoon, she did her job and asked the President of the United States a tough, relevant, and newsworthy question on behalf of the American people.” “Public officials are free to challenge reporting they disagree with, but personal attacks on journalists for asking questions are beneath the office and inconsistent with the principles of a free press,” CNN continued. “We stand firmly behind Kristen and reject these attacks in the strongest possible terms.” The network’s rebuke came after a question that Holmes asked President Donald Trump during an Oval Office event on Monday drew a heated response from Trump and, later, a series of critical posts from the White House targeting the journalist. “Jon Ossoff said that you’d rather travel with your aide Natalie Harp and build the ballroom than do your job as President,” Holmes asked the President, referring to a comment the Democratic Georgia Senator made during a [speech](https://x.com/atrupar/status/2089089370259070987) the day before. “What is your response?” “You mean Pee-wee Herman? Pee-wee Herman lookalike?” Trump replied. “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.” The event in the Oval Office celebrated a teenage lifeguard who rescued a 10-year-old boy at a beach in Santa Cruz, California, in July. But it is common practice for journalists present at events like this to ask the President questions about a variety of issues. Later on during the event, Holmes tried to ask the President another question, this time about whether North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un had asked him to [“scale back” American military exercises](https://time.com/article/2026/08/17/trump-south-korea-joint-drills-kim-north-nuclear-iran-analysis/) with South Korea. Trump didn’t answer her, instead telling her “quiet.” “You’re very disrespectful,” Trump said to Holmes. “Quiet.” He then asked Holmes which news outlet she was with, to which she replied that she was with CNN. “Fake news,” he shot back. “You’re a loud, boisterous person. You’re fake news.” As Holmes tried to ask her question again, Trump repeatedly said: “Be quiet. Be quiet. Be quiet.” “You’re a fake reporter and you report fake news,” he said to Holmes. Tensions further rose after the official White House Rapid Response account on X [shared a clip](https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2089413421368291507) of Holmes asking Trump about Ossoff’s remarks and called Holmes “a disgraceful, humiliating embarrassment to her alleged profession.” “@POTUS hosts a hero lifeguard in the Oval Office and she uses it as an opportunity to take a cheap shot about one of President Trump’s staffers,” the White House continued. “These scumbags are the lowest of the low.” Less than an hour later, the account [made another post](https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2089422283039203736) attacking Holmes. “Someday, your children will come across your disgusting and inhumane question,” the White House said, tagging Holmes in the post. “They will be sickened and embarrassed to have a parent be so callous and vindictive. It’s quite troubling.” In addition to CNN’s official statement, many of Holmes’ colleagues fired back at the White House for its remarks. “What a horrible … thing to say. Kristen is an incredible reporter, person and, above all, mother,” Alayna Treene, a White House correspondent at CNN, said in a [post on X](https://x.com/alaynatreene/status/2089435154620059685). “I don’t understand such a reaction to a journalist asking the president for his response to something a Democratic senator has leveled against him.” “Kristen is an excellent reporter who asked a good question, to which the president gave a fulsome answer,” Betsy Klein, a senior reporter and writer covering the White House for CNN, said in a [social media post](https://x.com/betsy%5Fklein/status/2089437245962920260). “You know what’s disgusting and inhumane? Bringing her perfect children into this.” Trump has repeatedly [targeted](https://time.com/article/2026/07/24/trump-white-house-correspondents-dinner-speech/) news outlets and individual journalists throughout his political career. He has [attacked female journalists](https://time.com/7337058/trump-female-journalist-attacks-new-york-times-katie-rogers/) in particular on a number of occasions; in November, for instance, he told one female reporter “quiet, piggy” after she asked him a question and, on a separate occasion later that month, called another “a third rate reporter who is ugly, both inside and out.” The President propagated the term “Fake News” to denigrate the press, and members of his Administrations have continued to use the phrase in the years since. The White House has also created what it calls a [“Media Bias Portal,”](https://time.com/7338411/white-house-media-bias-tracker-trump-attacks/) which lists journalists, news outlets, and articles that it claims are biased against the President. 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