BY SRH
Trump went on Truth Social on Thursday to speak out against the way the US media covered the Iran war, which is not the first time he has done this. Earlier this week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said similar harsh things. Trump specifically mentioned recent and ongoing rumors that the US is short on missiles and interceptors, which he has called lies. He called the media “treasonous SCUM” for what he said were false reports on “our Military Operation in Iran” and said that the US has “virtually unlimited amounts of Mid to High Grade Ammunition.” Notably, and in a way that seems to be a contradiction, he said that the US is not “selling them to others” right now, but is instead making and stockpiling them at “levels never seen before.” At the same time, Europe is trying to figure out how to send more Patriots to Ukraine.
Zelensky is basically betting that Ukraine will get more missiles. As he did before, Trump blamed the Biden administration for giving “hundreds of billions of dollars” to Ukraine and NATO “free of charge” to help them fight Russia. Politicians, journalists, and think tanks, as well as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and other independent news outlets, have been sounding the alarm on this issue. This comes after Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday that the “older stuff” can always be used when asked if the US is running out of standoff weapons: Hegseth was told by several military leaders that a long, large-scale operation in Iran makes it harder to deal with threats in other places, including at home.
Did you hear that? TRUMP: People respect us a lot. It would be crazy for someone else to do it… We have a huge amount of… old stuff. Then, in a formal speech on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent criticized the news media for recent stories. He was so angry that he told them they should stop being friends with the media. In the past few months, Pete Hegseth, the head of the Pentagon, has said similar things that sound like “treasonous” things. “One of the best allies the Iranians have in this is the media,” Bessent said at the G20 meeting in Asheville. “The media immediately publishes all the lies that they say.” “Everyone in this audience and every news outlet should be ashamed for publishing that, taking a lying regime at face value,” Bessent said.
This week, Bessent has said other things about the Iran war that support the “you are either with us or against us” Bush-style of thinking. This week, the Iran war reached six months. At first, White House officials kept trying to “assure” Americans that it would only last four to six weeks. In May, Trump scolded a famous New York Times reporter for asking a question about the “victory” that the president saw as “treasonous.” “I won every battle in my army.” The fake news, on the other hand, is written wrong by guys like you. You’re not real. I think what you write is kind of treasonous because we won the war altogether. You need to feel bad about yourself. At the time, Trump told David Sanger on Air Force One, “I really think it’s treason.” Stay tuned for more news….
