The conservative New York Post has given Donald Trump’s team a failing grade for its confusing messaging on the war with Iran.
The editorial board of the Murdoch-owned Post, which Trump has previously described as his favorite newspaper and has traditionally steered clear of criticizing the president, blasted top administration officials for failing to provide a “regular, clear, concrete sense” of how the multibillion-dollar conflict is unfolding.
The paper took particular aim at Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who it said should be front and center in providing updates instead of having an “allergic reaction” to the media’s reporting on U.S. servicemembers who have already been killed since the war began on Feb. 28.
“Team Trump provided solid briefings in the first weekend of the war, but then dropped the ball,” the Post editorial board wrote.
“Beyond the occasional in-depth presentation by Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, it’s as if the administration expects the public to think the occasional high-gloss social-media video is enough.”
Along with Hegseth, the paper said Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and other top Pentagon officials should step up and provide more detailed updates beyond Trump’s “emphatic headline statements.”
“This communications failure lets Iranian, anti-American, anti-Israel and/or anti-Trump actors fill the void—especially on social media,” the board wrote.
“Tell America how many sorties our planes flew today against how many targets; what munitions are most in play (and what new weapons we’ve deployed); keep up the info on how much we’ve reduced the enemy’s missile fire and drone deployments,” it added.
“What, as best you can say, happened on the ‘most intense day so far,’ as Hegseth declared Monday would be?”
The Post argued that clearer communication from other administration officials is essential, particularly because Trump’s erratic and contradictory statements are unlikely to change as the war continues.
While acknowledging that some military operations must remain secret, the editorial board added that the Iran conflict is “not the administration’s private war,” and that the American public deserves more transparency.
“A public that feels it’s being leveled with, as much as possible, will be a lot more patient than one that feels needlessly kept in the dark,” the board wrote. “Give the nation one daily report that emphasizes the big picture and provides enough of the smaller one to build confidence. Minor details like ‘we sank 16 mine-layers yesterday’ aren’t remotely enough.
“Yes, this is a tricky communications job—but the country and Team Trump will be far better off once the administration steps up to get it done.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
