In a brutal post on X, White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung went off on Daily Beast chief content officer Joanna Coles after Coles made bizarre comments about President Trump’s choice of outfit at Pope Francis’s funeral during an interview on CNN’s “Inside Politics.”
For context, Coles appeared on “Inside Politics” on April 27, 2025, and weighed in on President Trump’s decision to wear a blue suit to Pope Francis’s funeral, speculating about why the president opted not to wear black, the more traditional color of mourning. Coles went on to speculate that President Trump may be taking the weight-loss drug Ozempic after wildly jumping to conclusions based on the president’s attire.
During the “Inside Politics” interview, Coles began by saying that she was “so fascinated” by President Trump’s choice of suit, adding, “Donald Trump in a blue suit, when we know he has a black suit, because he was wearing a black suit the last time you met the Pope, so why wasn’t he wearing it this time? Lots of suspicion because he’s lost a lot of weight. Who knows how he’s lost weight?”
Continuing, Coles launched into a rumor about President Trump potentially taking Ozempic, adding that she believed that this decision would be contested by NHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Coles said, “We know that Robert Kennedy Jr., his health minister, doesn’t approve of people taking Ozempic because he thinks it shows a lack of moral power. So, who knows how Trump has lost weight? But I found the suit color very interesting.”
In response to the comments Coles made on “Inside Politics,” Steven Cheung wrote a searing X post that described her as having “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” writing, “CNN had this blithering idiot on @InsidePolitics from The Daily Beast named @JoannaColes making unsubstantiated claims about President Trump’s health.”
Continuing, Cheung doubled down on his criticism of Coles, saying, “Joanna is a piece of sh–, clearly suffering from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome rotting her pea-sized brain.” In response, X user Chad Neibert wrote, “TDS is real…keep calling them out!”
In addition, many more conservatives echoed Cheung’s sentiments on X, with one user writing, “The bluntness is what I voted for,” and another adding, “Greatest communications director in history LMFAO.” Many more commenters chimed in with humorous thoughts on both Coles and Cheung, with the user Hollywood MAGA writing, “You are quite kind, sir, assuming her brain has the diameter of a pea!”
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Regarding President Trump’s health, Fox News reported that the president’s physician, Navy Capt. Sean P. Barbabella described President Trump as being in “excellent health” following his annual physical, which took place on April 11, 2025. Capt. Barbabella added, “President Trump’s days include participation in multiple meetings, public appearances, press availability, and frequent victories in golf events,” the release read. “President Trump exhibits excellent cognitive and physical health and is fully fit to execute the duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State.”
Watch the interview with Coles:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video