Donald Trump lashed out at a New York Times reporter, to the point of accusing him of “treason,” as the correspondent asked him a question on Air Force One on Friday about the prospect of resuming bombing in the Iran war.
On the president’s return trip from China, David Sanger, White House and national security correspondent for the Times, asked Trump, “What would the use be in repeating the bombing? You did it for 38 days and you did not get the political changes in Iran.”
Trump responded, “I got a total military victory. But the fake news, guys like you, write incorrectly. You’re a fake guy. We had a total military victory. We knocked out their entire navy, we knocked out their entire air force, we knocked out all of their anti-aircraft weaponry, we knocked out all of their radar, we knocked out all of their leaders, number one, and then we knocked out all of their leaders in the second division, and we knocked out numerous of their leaders in the third division, and they’re very confused. We’ve had a total victory, except by people like you that don’t write the truth. You should write. I actually think it’s sort of treasonous what you write, but you and the New York Times and CNN, I would say, are the worst.”
Trump added, “You should be ashamed. I actually think it is treason when you write, like, ‘They’re doing well militarily,’ and they have no navy, no air force, no anti-anything.”
Earlier this month, Trump said at a Florida event that he thought it was “treasonous” for people to speak of the U.S. not winning the war in Iran. Earlier this week, he posted on Truth Social that it was “virtual treason” when “fake news” reports “that the Iranian enemy is doing well, militarily, against us.”
Sanger did not respond during Trump’s attack on him, even though he was just inches away as the president held a gaggle with reporters on the presidential plane. A New York Times spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.
In a news analysis on May 5, Sanger wrote that while the Iranian Navy is wiped out, it was only a portion of the objectives that Trump outlined when he launched the war on Feb. 28. Sanger wrote, “So far, Iran’s nuclear stockpile has not been touched and there is no agreement, at least yet, to ship it out of the country or to dilute it so that it cannot easily be used to manufacture weapons. While intelligence estimates differ, the U.S. assessments suggest that more than half of Iran’s missiles and launchers survived. It is too early to tell about support of the proxy groups, which were shredded by Israeli attacks.”
Earlier this week, the Times reported that U.S. intelligence agencies have gathered classified assessments that “Iran has regained access to most of its missile sites, launchers and underground facilities.” The story was bylined by Adam Entous, Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.
