Donald Trump has threatened legal action over a “treasonous” newspaper article that claimed his brutal war with Iran achieved very little change.
Trump, 80, lashed out at The New York Times on Sunday in three separate social media posts, calling the publication “corrupt and unethical cowards” and “criminals.”
The president also claimed he would update his “multi Billion Dollar lawsuit” against the Times, by adding new details of their “false and ridiculous reporting” over his war.
Trump’s fury stemmed from a Sunday article by Times reporter Neil MacFarquhar with the pointed headline, “What Changed After Almost Four Months of War? Analysts Say Not Much.”
The story stated that after almost 100 days of war, the U.S. and Iran have “reached a somewhat vague memorandum of understanding” to end the war, while noting that “skeptics are expressing bafflement over what exactly has transformed.”
It pointed out that Iran’s nuclear program was not destroyed, as Trump has claimed, while the peace deal does not address what the country can do with its existing ballistic missiles.
As well as highlighting the on-going battles between Israel and Hezbollah, the article stated, “Iran’s authoritarian regime endured, albeit with new leaders. Its proxies remain a threat to the region.”
Just before 5 p.m., Trump reacted to the headline of The New York Times story with an initial post that said “REALLY? 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.”
He also claimed the Strait of Hormuz is “OPEN, THE OIL IS GUSHING, and the U.S. Stock Market and Jobs are at record HIGHS. That’s what’s CHANGED, you corrupt and unethical cowards, and MORE!!!”
Around 90-minutes later, Trump sent another message, claiming the Times’ reporting used “FAKE & MAKE UP ‘FACTS’,” and was “TREASONOUS.”
The president added an extra threat in the second post, saying, “I will be adding all of their false and ridiculous reporting to my multi Billion Dollar lawsuit against them. They are Criminals!”
Trump was still fuming over the story at 8:30 p.m. Sunday, three-and-a-half hours after his original post.
He shared a fawning post from his loyal ally, Sen. Lindsey Graham, that shared Trump’s original message, saying the president was “spot on,” and the “analysis by the New York Times says more about their bias against President.”
Trump added, “The Failing New York Times is CORRUPT!”
The Times article also included damning commentary from specialists, including a M.I.T. professor who specializes in security issues in the Persian Gulf.
“This is not a document the United States agreed to because the war demonstrated a new U.S. military superiority,” Caitlin Talmadge said. “I think it’s a document that has resulted from the fact that the United States bit off more than it could chew and doesn’t want to escalate.”
She added that Trump’s document “really raises the question of what was achieved here, especially in comparison to the original Iran nuclear deal.”
There was also an embarrassing fact revealed by Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament and a lead negotiator.
He pointed out Trump’s war had highlighted the power of the Strait of Hormuz to Iran, with gas prices soaring globally after the war started on Feb. 28 and access to the shipping route was restricted.
Iran has now threatened to increase fees in the Strait, which they had not done before the war.
“This was a potential capacity that had never been activated,” Ghalibaf told state broadcaster IRIB last week. “But our enemies—God created them fools—turned that potential into reality.”
The president has continued to threaten Iran after signing the peace deal. He posted on Truth Social on Sunday morning, “Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble. If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!”
He also told Fox News he warned Iran against closing the Strait of Hormuz, telling Iranian officials, “You close it and you won’t have a country.”
He added, “We may take over the Strait, if we have to. I’ll blow the s--- out of them.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the New York Times and Trump’s personal lawyers for comment.
In October last year, Trump refiled his $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the Times, a month after a judge dismissed his complaint, saying it was laden with “florid and enervating” prose and that he had taken too long to lodge formal allegations of defamation.
Trump claims the publication and several of his reporters attempted to undermine his 2024 candidacy and disparaged his reputation as a businessman and as television star.
A spokeswoman for the Times said last October that the lawsuit had no merit. “This is merely an attempt to stifle independent reporting and generate P.R. attention, but The New York Times will not be deterred by intimidation tactics.”
