Watch: Trump Spars With 'Treasonous' NYT Reporter On Iran War Coverage

Friday saw a wild exchange play out between President Trump and a member of the media aboard Air Force One as it made its way back from China.

The New York Times' David Sanger pointed out that Trump's Operation Epic Fury did not result in political transition in Iran, but that the same Islamic Republic theocratic government is in charge. Sanger in essence questioned whether there was actually 'total victory' as Trump and his officials have repeatedly claimed. A visibly angered Trump, standing physically close to Sanger, rebuked this line of questioning as "treasonous" coverage of the "victory" accomplished by the United States. Watch the tense scene play out:

Trump to NYT's David Sanger: "I had a total military victory. But the fake news, guys like you, write incorrectly. You're a fake guy. We had a total military victory. I actually think it's sort of treasonous what you write. You should be ashamed of yourself. I actually think it's… pic.twitter.com/QK421YHKtq

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 15, 2026

"I had a total military victory. But the fake news, guys like you, write incorrectly. You're a fake guy. We had a total military victory. I actually think it's sort of treasonous what you write. You should be ashamed of yourself. I actually think it's treason."

As if to emphasize the charge, Trump peppered his comments by using 'treason' or 'treasonous' several times throughout his response, singling out both the NY Times and CNN in particular. 

"I actually think it’s sort of treasonous what you write," the president reiterated while lambasting Sanger, describing the Times and CNN "the worst."

Trump likely has in mind some of Sanger's earlier articles as well, given he reported earlier this month that while the Iranian ayatollah was "clearly gone" - it remains that the Islamic Republic's nuclear stockpile has remained untouched, even if likely buried underground at destroyed nuclear sites. Also there's still open questions surrounding Iran's missile and drone arsenal, and its ability to reequip during the ongoing fragile ceasefire.

The US President has also in a separate Fox News interview asserted he didn't underestimate anything when it came to the Iran situation, and closure of the Strait of Hormuz:

🚨 NEW: Fox's @BretBaier asks President Trump if he underestimated Iran's pain tolerance: “Why are we where we are?”

TRUMP: I didn’t underestimate anything. We hit them unbelievably hard. Look, we left their bridges. We left their electricity capacity. We can knock that all out… pic.twitter.com/AvXO9akZeZ

— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) May 15, 2026

And yet, a prime stated goal of the current 'Project Freedom' is to open the Hormuz Strait back up, or in other words the military mission has become to merely return the strait to its pre-war status. 

Here's Secretary of State Rubio just days ago: "It’s for the Strait to be open, back to the way it was. It’s for anyone to use it, no mines in the water, nobody paying tolls. That’s what we have to get back to and that’s the goal here." Or again: The goal of the war in Iran is now to return it to how it was before Trump started the war. It seems that Trump considers that pointing out inconvenient facts of the Iran war (or what his own top officials have said) to be 'treason'.