CNN Forced to Correct False Claim That Trump Lied About NIH’s Transgender Mice Funding [WATCH]

CNN was forced to correct a fact-check after inaccurately claiming that President Donald Trump “falsely claimed” the Biden-Harris administration spent $8 million on studies involving gender-affirming hormone treatments for mice.

During his joint address to Congress on Tuesday, Trump pointed to what he described as “appalling waste” in government spending, citing an $8.2 million allocation by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for research involving hormone treatments in mice.

“8 million dollars on making mice transgender”

Trump exposes massive fraud in our government in the most sarcastic and cleverly funny way

Wait for the end.. #trump #StateOfTheUnion pic.twitter.com/baElsvFFWz

— I Came, I Saw, They died (@4ortunefame) March 5, 2025

Elon Musk Called This Financial News ‘Terrifying’

CNN’s Deidre McPhillips initially attempted to dispute the claim, asserting that only about $500,000 had been spent on similar research in monkeys.

However, after the White House provided a detailed breakdown of the spending, CNN was forced to issue a correction.

The White House released a statement addressing the network’s fact-check, reaffirming Trump’s remarks.

“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 statement read. “The Fake News losers at CNN immediately tried to fact-check it, but President Trump was right (as usual).”

CNN’s original fact-check, published on Wednesday morning, had stated:

“Trump falsely claimed that the Department of Government Efficiency identified government spending of ‘$8 million for making mice transgender.’”

Following the White House response, CNN revised the article, softening its stance and altering the phrase “Trump falsely claimed” to “This claim needs context.”

The Fake News losers at CNN tried to fact check President Trump saying Biden spent $8 million on “making mice transgender,” but President Trump was right (as usual).

FACT: Under the Biden Administration, the National Institutes of Health doled outmillions of dollars in…

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 5, 2025

In response to CNN’s dispute, the White House provided a breakdown of six NIH grants that funded hormone research in mice, totaling $8,290,053. The grants included:

• $455,000 to study “gender-affirming hormone therapy on HIV-vaccine induced immune responses”
• $2.5 million to research the “reproductive consequences of hormone therapy”
• $299,940 to analyze the effects of testosterone therapy on breast cancer risk and treatment outcomes
• $735,113 to examine how hormone therapy impacts mouse microbiome
• $1.2 million to study “androgen effects on the reproductive neuroendocrine axis”
• $3.1 million to investigate hormones as mediators of sex influences in asthma

All listed studies involved hormone replacement therapy in mice, confirming the $8.2 million figure Trump cited in his speech.

CNN’s initial fact-check had only considered three NIH studies, including a $299,940 grant from the National Cancer Institute that examined breast cancer rates in female mice compared to those receiving testosterone therapy.

CNN just quietly edited their “fact check” article after they reported that Trump’s statement on spending $8 million for making mice transgender was “false.”

It sounds so crazy that they thought Trump made it up…

It’s 100% true and now even CNN is forced to admit it pic.twitter.com/oVETMXbKQG

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 5, 2025

Additionally, two other NIH studies—totaling $455,120—researched how HIV vaccines functioned in mice that had undergone hormone therapy.

After reviewing the White House’s detailed response, CNN updated its page, acknowledging its previous error and revising its characterization of Trump’s statement. The correction read:

“An earlier version of this item incorrectly characterized as false Trump’s claim about federal money being spent for ‘making mice transgender.’”

McPhillips also added further explanation to the report, stating:

“The White House list made clear what Trump, in the speech, did not: The studies were meant to figure out how these treatments might affect the health of humans who take them, not for the purpose of making mice transgender.”

While CNN adjusted its wording, the correction came only after the White House challenged the network’s original claim, reinforcing that the Biden-Harris administration had indeed allocated millions toward research involving hormone therapy in mice.

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