Leavitt blasts NYT for making it seem Iran is 'crushing the US', claims 'it's quite the opposite'

WASHINGTON, DC: Karoline Leavitt sharply criticized The New York Times over its reporting on the US-Iran conflict, accusing the newspaper of misleading Americans about the state of the war.

Speaking during an interview with Lara Trump on Fox News, the White House press secretary argued that the outlet’s coverage paints a distorted picture of the situation. 

“If you picked up The New York Times, you would think that Iran is crushing the United States,” she said. “It’s quite the opposite!”

Karoline Leavitt criticizes media outlets for misleading Americans

Leavitt framed her remarks as a direct response to what she described as misleading narratives from major media outlets covering the conflict.

“We’ve been working 24/7 at the White House to make sure the American people understand how much of a tremendous success this operation has been over the past two weeks,” Leavitt said, adding that it was “abhorrent” that some outlets rely on anonymous sources instead of speaking with officials directly involved in decision-making.

She pointed to reporting from CNN that suggested the administration had been unprepared for the possible closure of the Strait of Hormuz, calling the claim “unequivocally false.”

According to Leavitt, the Pentagon had been planning for that possibility from the start, and she noted that the network later issued a correction after she raised concerns about the report.

Leavitt also criticized coverage from ABC News, accusing the outlet of using “unverified, non-credible tips from anonymous sources” that she said unnecessarily alarmed people in California.

Donald Trump has repeatedly clashed with the New York Times

Donald Trump has frequently targeted The New York Times in public statements and social media posts, often accusing the outlet of biased reporting.

One recent clash began when the newspaper published a report examining signs of fatigue in the 79-year-old president.

The article claimed that Trump’s public schedule had grown shorter compared to earlier periods of his political career. It suggested that Americans were seeing less of him than during his first term, even though he still appeared regularly in front of reporters.

Trump rejected the report outright and argued that it was designed to undermine him politically.

He called the article a “hit piece” and accused the paper of trying to portray him negatively.

The Republican leader went further in an extended post on Truth Social, where he launched a broad defense of his leadership and energy.

In the message, Trump listed what he described as major achievements during his presidency, including “winning the 2024 election in a landslide,” settling “8 wars,” overseeing “48 new stock market highs,” and restoring America’s global standing.

Trump singles out New York Times reporters in criticism

Trump’s criticism of the newspaper also became personal when he singled out journalists involved in the article.

Among those mentioned was White House correspondent Katie Rogers, one of the report’s co-authors.

Rogers worked on the story alongside Dylan Freedman, the outlet’s AI projects editor.

Trump questioned their reporting and accused the paper of assigning journalists to cover him with the intention of writing negative stories.

He also claimed the publication frequently got facts wrong, even suggesting that it had misrepresented election results in the past.

The president again referred to the newspaper as “an Enemy of the People,” a phrase he has used repeatedly when criticizing media organizations he believes are hostile to his administration.