CNN Steps On A Rake After ‘Fact-Checking’ Trump’s ‘Transgender Mice’ Funding Claim

CNN issued a correction after the network inaccurately asserted that President Donald Trump “falsely claimed” the Biden administration spent $8 million to make mice transgender.

During his joint address to Congress on Tuesday, Trump cited several examples of “appalling waste” he had cut, including $8.2 million in NIH-funded studies on “gender-affirming” hormone treatments mice. CNN’s Deidre McPhillips initially tried to dispute the claim, arguing only about $500,000 had been allocated for similar research in monkeys — she was later forced to issue a correction after the White House proved CNN’s “fact check” inaccurate in a statement.

“Last night, President Donald J. Trump highlighted many of the egregious examples of waste, fraud and abuse funded by the American taxpayers, including $8 million spent by the Biden Administration ‘for making mice transgender,’” the White House statement reads. “The Fake News losers at CNN immediately tried to fact check it, but President Trump was right (as usual).”

“Trump falsely claimed that the Department of Government Efficiency identified government spending of ‘$8 million for making mice transgender,’” CNN’s original fact check read.

The White House then released a statement listing six NIH grants for studies on hormone treatments in mice, a combined total of $8,290,053. The Biden-era grants included