Trump calls CNN coverage of war in Iran ‘disrespectful to our military’
President Donald Trump criticizes the media’s coverage of U.S. military operations in Iran while speaking to reporters from the Oval Office.
President Donald Trump took aim at The New York Times and CNN on Thursday for what he called "seditious" coverage of the Iran war.
"I'm negotiating a deal with Iran. And every week, every three days, they put in a thing that the war should stop. And the people ask me, how the hell do you negotiate like that? You're destroying them," Trump said to reporters in the Oval Office. "Think of it — we militarily decapitated the country, and every day I read about how well they're doing militarily. They have nothing left. They're done."
"And yet, I read in The New York Times, I see on stupid CNN, which I only watch because you have to watch a little bit of the enemy, so I watch it for a very short period. You have to — you have to be smart," he continued. "And if you see CNN, you'd think they're winning the war. If you read The New York Times, it's actually seditious, in my opinion. You read The New York Times, you actually think they're winning the war... it's a terrible thing."
President Donald Trump speaks after signing several executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 30, 2026. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump joked that the Iranian regime is "sitting in a cave" and how "everyone's dead around them" and reading that they're "winning the war."
"It's so sad," he lamented.
FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL, NEW YORK TIMES CLASH OVER PAPER'S CLAIM ITS REPORTER WAS ‘INVESTIGATED’
Trump called CNN "stupid" but said "you have to watch a little bit of the enemy." (Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Trump later took another swipe at CNN's report alleging the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last June weren't as effective as his administration claimed.
"Before they landed, CNN came out with a report that maybe the damage wasn't that great. The damage was far greater than we said. It was obliteration," Trump told reporters.
"And the reason I took such — I was angry about it because it was disrespectful to those pilots and those incredible people, including the people that maintained the planes," he added.
A spokesperson for The New York Times told Fox News Digital, "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. We have presented this coverage fairly, thoroughly and above all, accurately to readers. This reporting is protected by the First Amendment and vital to ensuring that the public is well-informed."
A spokesperson for CNN declined to comment.
CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST MEDIA AND CULTURE NEWS
Trump slammed what he called the "seditious" coverage of The New York Times. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
