Defeated in War, Trump Lashes Out at US Media

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump has blamed his country’s media for reports on the failure to pressure Iran through recent attacks. He stated that reports claiming Tehran is militarily fine against Washington amount to treason. “They are helping and colluding with the enemy! What they are doing is just giving false hope to Iran when there is actually no hope. They are American cowards who support our country,” the US president wrote on Truth Social, without specifying which media reports he meant. “Only Losers, Ungrateful People, and Fools could bring charges against America!” he added. Trump and senior members of his administration have been criticising US media from the start for critical coverage of the war. Citing unnamed officials familiar with the matter, CNN reported this week that Trump “personally pushed” the US Department of Justice to issue subpoenas to journalists covering the war in an effort to identify their sources. So far, US media have frequently published reports on US failures in attacks on Iran. For example, NBC News reported on the depletion of US ammunition supplies due to attacks on Iran. Meanwhile, CNN published details of severe damage to US military bases in the Middle East from Iranian counterattacks. The Wall Street Journal published a report that only a third of Iran’s ammunition supplies were successfully destroyed by the US and Israel. Meanwhile, under domestic pressure from soaring inflation related to the war, Trump promised that fuel prices would drop quickly after the conflict ends. “As soon as this war ends, which won’t last long, you will see oil prices drop and you will see the stock market… surge high,” he told reporters. “There are hundreds of ships full of oil wanting to leave. Once they leave, we will see an oil gush, and inflation will drop.” As we have reported, Trump is facing increasing political pressure over his decision to launch a war against Iran, which has shaken global energy markets and disrupted the stability of the US and world economy. The US President was asked if he thought Chinese President Xi Jinping, whom he will meet this weekend in Beijing, could help with the Iran issue. “No, I think we don’t need any help regarding Iran. We will win it one way or another. We will win it peacefully or not,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “Their navy is gone, their air force is gone, every element of their war machine is gone.”