President Donald Trump made headlines anew after spending Friday night on Truth Social attacking the media while praising the same outlet for crediting him with a major policy win. The contradiction raised many eyebrows and was lost on no one, but, as always, the husband of Melania seemed unconcerned.
In a post, Trump highlighted a CNN segment that credited his $200 billion purchase of mortgage bonds with driving interest rates to their lowest level in more than 3 years. While it was a genuine economic development that could help thousands of Americans and, for the POTUS, a validation of his hard work, he could not resist the insult on his way to the compliment.
“Even Fake News CNN is praising the DROP in Mortgage Interest Rates!” Trump wrote in a post shared on Friday, January 16. The CNN segment he attached showed anchor Brianna Keilar introducing a report on the sharp decline in borrowing costs.
“Some encouraging news today for the real estate market. Mortgage rates have now fallen to their lowest level in more than three years, and industry experts hope that it will help break the stalemate that has kept reluctant sellers from selling and would-be buyers from buying,” Keilar said.
Trump calls CNN fake news and scum on Fox News. 😂😂🤡🤡🤡🤡 pic.twitter.com/J9IhgM5YdN
— David james (@Davidja50494872) June 25, 2025
As per Freddie Mac, the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage had fallen to 6.06 percent, down from above 7 percent just a year earlier. “Yes, we’re talking about the lowest level in more than three years,” CNN Business and Politics Correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich said. She added that mortgage rates had returned to levels last seen in early 2023.
The mechanism behind the decline was straightforward. Donald Trump had directed the purchase of large volumes of mortgage bonds, intended to lower borrowing costs. Some critics have questioned whether it’s a sustainable long-term strategy or merely a short-term intervention designed to produce headlines and political benefit. But the numbers were real, and the potential impact on American households was significant.
If you bought a typical $450,000 house recently, your monthly mortgage payment would be about $230 cheaper than if you had bought that same house a year ago. That is thanks to a slight drop in interest rates. For a family budget, that “extra” $230 is a big deal—it can cover a month of groceries or a car payment.
Real estate experts were hoping these lower rates would “defrost” the housing market, which has been stuck in a rut for a long time. It seems to be working: more people bought homes in December than in November (a 5% increase). People who were waiting for a better deal are finally jumping back into the market.
A CNN reporter looked genuinely uncomfortable being tied to CNN and tried to dodge it. Trump caught it immediately and called her out:
President Trump: “Who are you with?”
Reporter: “I’m with the US White House TV pool…”
Trump: “What network are you?”
Reporter: “I’m with… pic.twitter.com/LSXPUyd44j
— Bob D. (@bobdur67) January 12, 2026
Even though interest rates are a bit better, the house’s actual price is still a major problem. The middle-of-the-road price for a home is now about $405,400. Prices have been rising every single month for two and a half years straight, making it hard for the average person to afford a home, even with the small savings on interest.
Keilar closed the CNN segment with a wry observation about the nature of celebrating a 6 percent mortgage rate. “There are a few reasons to miss the year of 2020, Vanessa, but I will say 6.06 percent being something to celebrate might be one of them,” she said.
Yurkevich agreed. “We’ll never get back, unfortunately, anytime soon to that 2, 3 percent. So, 6 percent might sound good to some people,” she added.
For Trump, the segment provided exactly what he needed: mainstream media validation of his economic policy. That it came from CNN, the network he routinely denounces as fake news, seemed to matter only insofar as it made the praise more valuable. The contradiction between attacking the network and celebrating its coverage apparently didn’t concern him. In Trump’s view, good coverage is good coverage, regardless of the source.
