WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has intensified his long-standing criticism of mainstream media, targeting individual reporters and threatening legal action against major outlets following their coverage of recent US military strikes on Iran. Trump, who has heavily invested politically in the success of the strikes, faced backlash from his own supporters for going against his campaign pledge to avoid foreign military interventions.
The president’s fury was sparked by a classified report from his administration, suggesting that his claim of “obliterating” Iran’s nuclear facilities was overstated. His reaction to the media coverage of this preliminary intelligence report highlights his ongoing efforts to challenge the media and deflect scrutiny of the bombing raids.
“The media’s discussion of the preliminary intelligence report complicated the president’s preferred narrative about the US attack,” said Joshua Tucker, co-director of the New York University Center for Social Media and Politics.
The report, initially covered by CNN and The New York Times, indicated that the strikes might not have destroyed critical components of Iran’s nuclear sites and that the damage was only temporary, setting back the nuclear program by a few months.
