Trump calls Peter Doocy’s Russia-Iran question ‘stupid,’ says it’s an ‘easy problem’

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump got angry with Fox News reporter Peter Doocy on Friday, March 6, when he asked about reports that Russia might be helping Iran target American forces.

Trump said the question was poorly timed during a White House event about college sports.

The tense exchange unfolded at the end of a White House college sports roundtable.

Doocy talks of Russia’s alleged involvement with Iran

Doocy raised The Washington Post’s report, published earlier that day, about Moscow’s alleged involvement in Iran’s recent military activity.

“President Trump, it sounds like the Russians are helping Iran target and attack Americans now,” Doocy asked.

Trump quickly brushed off the question, sharply rebuking the Fox News reporter: “That’s an easy problem compared to what we’re doing here, but can I be honest?”

“It’s just, I have a lot of respect for you, you’ve always been very nice to me. What a stupid question that is to be asking at this time. We’re talking about something else.”

The exchange happened a few hours after The Post said that Russia might be helping Iran find and target US troops in the area.

The newspaper said that three people who know about the ongoing conflict said that Moscow is thought to have offered technical help to Tehran as Iran tries to attack American troops.

“It does seem like it’s a pretty comprehensive effort,” one of the people familiar with the situation said in the article.

Pressed on the allegations, Karoline Leavitt said, "Whether or not this happened, frankly, it does not really matter because President Trump and the United States military are absolutely decimating the rogue Iranian terrorist regime.”

Trump says dealing with Iran war ‘easy’ compared with college sports

The meeting took place while Trump was leading a discussion on college sports policies.

At one point, the president argued that questions about the war in Iran were “easy" compared to efforts to better regulate college sports and rein in high salaries for football players, an extraordinary suggestion that even he himself seemed to think better of a short time later.

The topic was about paying college athletes for using their names, pictures, likenesses, and other money deals.

In the meeting, Trump said that figuring out college sports rules is harder than dealing with conflicts between countries. College sports are changing fast, he said.

Later, the president appeared to get a bit more reflective when asked why he was focused on this topic with so much else going on in the world.

“I saw what was happening with college sports. And it doesn’t sound very important compared to what’s happening in Iran and other places," he said.

"But it is very important to me. And if I can get it done, I’ll get it done.”

During the discussion, the president argued that navigating the rapidly changing college sports landscape was more difficult than addressing geopolitical conflicts.

Trump suggested that resolving issues tied to athlete compensation, court rulings, and federal policy surrounding the NCAA required complicated decisions affecting schools nationwide.