Journalist Lydia Moynihan slams media headlines on Iran war: 'Rooting for America to fail'

ATLANTA, GEORGIA: Journalist Lydia Moynihan criticized several media outlets over their coverage of the ongoing conflict with Iran, arguing that some headlines appear to frame the situation as a failure for the United States simply because of opposition to President Donald Trump.

During a CNN panel discussion on March 14, Saturday, Moynihan said she has noticed what she views as a pattern among some journalists and Democratic politicians when reporting on the war.

“I find it interesting, though, that I’ve seen among Democratic politicians and many in the media, they seem to almost be rooting for America to fail because they don’t like Trump,” Moynihan said.

Lydia Moynihan slams 'pessimistic coverage'

Moynihan began by addressing the broader issue of disputes between the media and the government, noting that several outlets have taken legal action involving the US Department of Defense.

“The New York Times and a lot of news outlets are suing the DOD, and the judge seems to be certainly in their favor,” she said.

“So I think that issue is going to be resolved relatively soon.”

Despite criticizing certain headlines, Moynihan emphasized that she supports the role of the press.

“Look, we absolutely need a free press,” she said. “And I don’t think Hegseth is actually doing anything that’s threatening people who are writing things.”

At one point in the discussion, another panelist pushed back, noting that a recent broadcast included a threat directed at a news network and references to the Federal Bureau of Investigation reviewing reporting from The Washington Post.

Moynihan responded that disagreements with media coverage are common across administrations. “It’s okay to not like headlines,” she said. “Many administrations are unhappy with headlines.”

Moynihan then pointed to what she described as pessimistic coverage of the war.

According to her, some outlets have published headlines suggesting the US is faltering while the Iranian government remains strong.

“If you look at some of these headlines, they’re kind of what? ‘US capability showing signs of rot.’ ‘Iran regime doing well in control.’ ‘The US has no strategy,’” she said.

“I’m all for a free press,” she said. “I can also understand frustration that the media is painting this like we’re losing.”

Josh Rogin and Moynihan clash over civilian casualties

The discussion later shifted to the human toll of the conflict, sparking another exchange among the panelists.

Josh Rogin argued that ordinary Iranians were suffering in the war.

“The Iranian people are innocent and they’re getting killed by the thousands,” Rogin said. “And the more we strike them, the more they die.”

Republican strategist Brad Todd responded bluntly, saying the Iranian regime needed to be targeted. “Someone has to strike the regime,” Todd said.

Moynihan pushed back on Rogin’s claim by arguing that violence against civilians in Iran had already been occurring before the war.

“Yes, they were getting killed by the thousands in January,” she said. “The ayatollah was killing 30,000-plus people.”

She also claimed that large numbers of Iranians support US intervention. 

“More than 80% of people are thrilled to have America come in,” Moynihan said.

Rogin immediately challenged the statistic.

“Eighty percent? Where do you get that number?” he asked before joking, “You know that 85% of statistics are made up?”