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CNN host Erin Burnett took time during her report on Tuesday to remark on the "friendliness" of the Iranians who chanted "Death to America" when she visited the country years ago.
The "OutFront" host reported live from the United Arab Emirates on "Inside Politics with Dana Bash" to discuss the sentiment in the Middle East after the fragile ceasefire between Iran and Israel. Burnett said that despite news of both Israel and Iran reportedly violating the agreement, most people on the ground felt optimistic that the ceasefire would ultimately hold.
Burnett then described her own experience with "whiplash" from Iran, recounting how she once spoke with Iranians after they chanted "Death to America."
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"Death to America" has been an ongoing slogan among Iranian leaders. (Getty Images)
"I remember at one point being in Tehran years ago, and they’re chanting ‘Death to America’ all around me, even as I say, ‘Oh, I’m an American, reporting for CNN.’ And they were happy to speak to me. So those two sort of jarring realities of the chant and yet, the friendliness, have existed together," Burnett said.
"Death to America" has been a slogan used by Iranian leaders for years and was referenced by President Donald Trump as a motivator behind his decision to launch airstrikes against the nation’s nuclear facilities on Saturday.
"For 40 years, Iran has been saying, ‘Death to America. Death to Israel.’ They have been killing our people, blowing off their arms, blowing off their legs with roadside bombs," Trump said on Saturday evening from the White House. "That was their specialty. We lost over a thousand people, and hundreds of thousands throughout the Middle East and around the world have died as a direct result of their hate in particular."
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President Donald Trump called out mainstream reporting on the U.S. strikes on Iran early Tuesday morning. (Getty Images; AP)
Trump called out CNN reporters as "gutless losers" and "scum" early Tuesday morning for downplaying the success of the U.S. strikes.
"But when I see CNN, all night long, they're trying to say, ‘Well, maybe it wasn't really as demolished as we thought.' It was demolished. You take a look at the pinpricks, and you see that place is gone. And I will say, I think CNN ought to apologize to the pilots of the B-2s," Trump said.
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Lindsay Kornick is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to lindsay.kornick@fox.com and on Twitter: @lmkornick.