Donald Trump held a press conference in which a correspondent from The New York Times questioned him about Iran. During the exchange, Trump criticized the outlet, calling it “fake.”
The reporter asked whether Trump’s threats to attack Iranian infrastructure could qualify as war crimes under international law. Trump responded by attacking the outlet’s credibility, saying, “You no longer have credibility at The New York Times. Because The New York Times said, ‘Oh, Trump won’t win the election,’ and I won in a landslide. I won every swing state,” according to The Daily Beast.
Reporter: Deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure violate the Geneva conventions and international law.
Trump: Who are you with?
Reporter: I’m with the New York Times
Trump: Failing New York Times. Circulation is way down.
Reporter: Are you concerned that your threat… pic.twitter.com/m2VyYVQO85
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 6, 2026
HuffPost reported that Trump continued his criticism, saying, “The credibility they have is it used to be ‘all the news that’s fit to print.’ The Old Gray Lady — it was great. But they’re running on past fumes, and you can’t keep doing that. You have to be able to give the correct news, and people like you, who I know, are fake. You’re fake.”
The New York Times responded in a statement posted on X, saying, “President Trump’s derisive comments to a New York Times reporter today are the latest example in his pattern of answering fair questions with inaccurate attacks.”
The outlet added, “Contrary to the president’s false claims, our extensive reporting and polling during the 2024 presidential campaign captured the race in full, including his advantages. Mr. Trump himself celebrated this polling and reporting numerous times.”
During the briefing, Trump also discussed a reported rescue mission involving a pilot shot down by Iran. The officer was said to have moved away from the crash site and contacted U.S. forces.
According to PBS News, Trump also threatened to jail the journalist who reported on the U.S. search for the officer. He described the alleged leaker as a “sick person” and said, “The person that did the story will go to jail if he doesn’t say, and that doesn’t last long.” Trump also repeated warnings of potential military action against Iran if negotiations fail.
He said,
“Every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o’clock tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again. I mean complete demolition by 12 o’clock, and it will happen over a period of four hours if we wanted to — we don’t want that to happen.”
Q: “Are you winding this down or are you escalating it?”
President Trump: “It depends what they do. This is a critical period. They have a period of—well, until tomorrow at 8 o’clock.” pic.twitter.com/gs5ojQrV2r
— CSPAN (@cspan) April 6, 2026
Amid what appeared to be mixed messaging on Iran, a reporter asked whether the situation was de-escalating or intensifying.
Trump responded, “I don’t know. I can’t tell. It depends what they do. This is a critical period. They have a period of, well, till tomorrow, at 8 o’clock,” according to NPR.
