The US president accused the newspaper of using “fake and made up facts” after it questioned the results of the war
US President Donald Trump has threatened legal action against the New York Times over its analytical reporting on the goals and outcome of the war in Iran, calling the newspaper’s coverage “treasonous.”
The outburst was triggered by an article published on Sunday by reporter Neil MacFarquhar under the headline “What Changed After Almost Four Months of War? Analysts Say Not Much.”
In the piece, MacFarquhar wrote that skeptics were “expressing bafflement” over what the war had managed to change, arguing that “neither the war nor the agreement terminated the main threats emanating from Iran.” He also cited Caitlin Talmadge, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor specializing in Persian Gulf security issues, who said the memorandum of understanding reached last week between Washington and Tehran “resulted from the fact that the United States bit off more than it could chew.”
Trump shot back in a series of angry posts on Truth Social on Sunday, calling the newspaper “Corrupt and Failing” and claiming the US-Israeli campaign had crippled Iran’s military capabilities, eliminated its leadership twice, and devastated the country’s economy.
“The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, THE OIL IS GUSHING, and the U.S. Stock Market and Jobs are at record HIGHS. That’s what’s CHANGED, you corrupt and unethical cowards, and MORE,” he wrote.
The president followed up with another post accusing the newspaper of reporting through “FAKE & MADE UP ‘FACTS’” and describing its coverage as “TREASONOUS.”
“I will be adding all of their false and ridiculous reporting to my multibillion-dollar lawsuit against them. They are Criminals,” Trump added.
Trump’s remarks refer to an ongoing $15 billion defamation lawsuit he filed against the New York Times in 2025. Centered on the book “Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success,” the suit accuses the newspaper, four of its reporters, and publisher Penguin Random House of disseminating false statements about Trump, his family, and his businesses in an effort to damage his 2024 presidential campaign.
Trump alleged that the newspaper had become a “full-throated mouthpiece of the Democrat Party” and said the lawsuit was part of an effort to restore “integrity to journalism.”
The New York Times rejected the allegations, saying the case “has no merit” and amounted to an attempt to suppress independent journalism. The newspaper said it would continue reporting “without fear or favor.”
