WASHINGTON—CNN and MS NOW did not take President Donald Trump’s National Angel Family Day ceremony at the White House live on their broadcasts on Monday.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung and White House Deputy Communications Director Kaelan Dorr blasted the networks for refusing to air the ceremony honoring families who have lost loved ones at the hands of illegal aliens.
“Sickening and horrific that CNN and MSNOW are outright refusing to broadcast this powerful and moving event,” Cheung wrote in a post on X. “It’s like they don’t care about victims and their families.”
Sickening and horrific that CNN and MSNOW are outright refusing to broadcast this powerful and moving event. It's like they don't care about victims and their families. https://t.co/Av5y70XSFu
— Steven Cheung (@StevenCheung47) February 23, 2026
“President Trump is currently hosting a truly tear jerking event, signing a proclamation honoring Angel Families. And CNN and MSNow(?) aren’t covering it. Sick. Disgusting. Mask is off,” Dorr wrote.
President Trump is currently hosting a truly tear jerking event, signing a proclamation honoring Angel Families.
— Kaelan Dorr (@Kaelan47) February 23, 2026
And CNN and MSNow(?) aren’t covering it.
Sick. Disgusting. Mask is off. pic.twitter.com/wdL7r1K1wi
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted NBC reporter Garrett Haake in response to one of his tweets on the event.
The President was attacking the media because networks like yours refuse to cover the stories of Angel Families. https://t.co/wFMboF5wQr
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) February 23, 2026
“Between tributes to the various families in the room, the president keeps returning to attack the media, complaining about ‘fake polls,’ and saying he could cure cancer and not get the credit he deserves,” Haake wrote.
“The President was attacking the media because networks like yours refuse to cover the stories of Angel Families,” Leavitt responded.
Trump spoke on the theme of media ignoring the suffering of Angel Families in his remarks to open the event–a harbinger in a way of CNN and MS NOW not broadcasting the event live:
These are the angel families that we love, that for decades our government betrayed and our media totally ignored, and I’ve seen it. When I first got involved with the angel families, I had a meeting. It was so sad, and they got up and spoke and the media literally just turned off the cameras. They don’t want to hear them… That was my first glimpse as to what was happening.
Trump said that media who do not cover angel families “are sick people.”
.@POTUS participates in an Angel Families remembrance ceremony:
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 23, 2026
"Everyone in this room not only suffered an infinite loss; there were the victims of politicians who put the comfort of foreign criminals before the safety of American citizens & American patriots." pic.twitter.com/7c1CuArY9f
President Trump blasts media who don’t cover angel families as “sick people.” pic.twitter.com/sBN8h3vP83
— Nick Gilbertson (@Gilbertson_DC) February 23, 2026
“Everyone in this room not only suffered an infinite loss, they were the victims of politicians who put the comfort of foreign criminals before the safety of American citizens and American patriots,” the president said.
“Their stories were censored and suppressed like maybe almost never before, so that the politicians could open our borders and allow our nation to be invaded,” he added.
At the end of his remarks, the president signed a proclamation declaring February 23, 2026, National Angel Family Day, before a choir of servicemembers delivered a beautiful rendition of “Amazing Grace.”
A beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace to conclude the Angel Family Day ceremony at the White House earlier pic.twitter.com/aY6MAn27IO
— Nick Gilbertson (@Gilbertson_DC) February 23, 2026
Update: A CNN spokesperson said in a statement to Breitbart News that the network was providing blizzard coverage during the Angel Family Day ceremony.
“At the time of the White House event, CNN was covering the breaking news around the historic blizzard impacting millions of Americans,” the spokesperson said.
