Trump TORCHES ‘almost treasonous’ media over Iran coverage
President Donald Trump calls out ‘fake news’ media over coverage of the Iran conflict during an appearance on ‘Sunday Morning Futures.’
President Donald Trump called the New York Times' Iran-war coverage "treasonous" Sunday night, and said that he would add the paper's latest reporting to his $15 billion defamation lawsuit after a Times analysis questioned what the conflict had changed.
"The way the Corrupt and Failing New York Times is covering stories on a very battered and beat up Iran, through FAKE & MADE UP ‘FACTS’ is, in my opinion, ‘TREASONOUS,’" Trump posted on Truth Social.
Trump followed with a direct legal threat against the newspaper.
The posts followed a Sunday Times analysis by Neil MacFarquhar headlined, "What Changed After Almost Four Months of War? Analysts Say Not Much." (Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
TRUMP BLASTS NEW YORK TIMES, CNN FOR 'SEDITIOUS' COVERAGE OF IRAN WAR
"I will be adding all of their false and ridiculous reporting to my multi Billion Dollar lawsuit against them. They are Criminals!" Trump said.
Nicole Taylor, a spokesperson for The New York Times, pointed Fox News Digital to the paper’s October statement rejecting Trump’s lawsuit.
"This lawsuit has no merit. Nothing has changed today. This is merely an attempt to stifle independent reporting and generate PR attention, but The New York Times will not be deterred by intimidation tactics," Taylor said.
Taylor also defended the Times’ coverage of the war in Iran after Trump accused the paper of using "fake" facts in its reporting.
The Times analysis on Sunday said the war and agreement did not end what U.S. and Israeli officials consider Iran’s main threats. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
"The New York Times’s coverage of the U.S. war in Iran has consistently reported facts from the region, Washington and around the world," Taylor said.
"We have presented this coverage fairly, thoroughly and above all, accurately to readers, documenting what’s happening in Iran, including civilian deaths and the destruction of infrastructure and historic sites. This reporting is protected by the First Amendment and vital to ensuring that the public is well-informed."
The posts followed a Sunday Times analysis by Neil MacFarquhar headlined, "What Changed After Almost Four Months of War? Analysts Say Not Much," which examined the war and the Trump administration’s interim agreement with Tehran.
The Times analysis said the war and agreement did not end what U.S. and Israeli officials consider Iran’s main threats, including its nuclear program, ballistic missiles, regime and regional proxies.
Trump’s criticism came as his administration defended an interim Iran agreement aimed at ending hostilities and reopening negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)
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"Neither the war nor the agreement ended what U.S. and Israeli officials regard as the main threats emanating from Iran," the article said, according to The New York Times.
Trump rejected the framing in an earlier post, saying Iran's military had been badly damaged and the Strait of Hormuz remained open.
"Their Military is DONE, their Navy is GONE, their Air Force is GONE, their Launching Pads, Missiles, Drones and Manufacturing of same, is almost GONE," Trump said.
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The White House defended the Iran memorandum of understanding (MoU) as a diplomatic breakthrough after Operation Epic Fury, saying the agreement ensures Iran "will never obtain a nuclear weapon" and reopens the Strait of Hormuz to free navigation.
Vice President JD Vance said Monday after high-level talks in Switzerland that U.S. negotiators had established a mechanism to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, secured Iran’s agreement to invite International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors back into the country and made progress setting up technical talks in the weeks ahead, Fox News Digital reported.
Trump has settled prior lawsuits with ABC News and Paramount, which agreed to payments tied to his future presidential library.
