NY Times Reporter Flames President Trump On His Handling Of The Iran War With A Question On War Crimes
A screenshot from The White House stream of the press conference. Public Domain.
Trump Sidesteps War Crime Question, Attacks New York Times Reporter
President Donald Trump refused to clarify whether his military threats against Iranian infrastructure constitute a war crime during a press briefing on Friday, July 24, opting instead to mock the reporter asking the question. The question was asked during a press conference surrounding announcements related to American nuclear innovation.
The exchange, captured on C-SPAN footage and distributed across social media channels including TikTok and Instagram, unfolded after New York Times White House correspondent Shawn McCreesh asked Trump about his repeated public threats to target civilian infrastructure amidst heightened hostilities with Iran.
The Exchange
"You're talking about blowing up civilian power plants and bridges," McCreesh said. "Much of the civilized world would consider that a war crime. Do you?"
Trump immediately declined to address the substance of the question, pivoting to ask for the reporter's affiliation.
"Uh, I won't respond to that question," Trump replied. "Who are you with?"
When McCreesh identified himself full-throatedly as a journalist for The New York Times, Trump scoffed, "I figured so. Failing New York Times."
The New York Times is in fact not failing and its stock price is trading near all times highs relative to when the company started trading on the NYSE in 1986. Although it could be argued that the stock is performing so well due to the coverage reporters are getting asking hard hitting questions to the president.
Context For The Question
The refusal to answer comes as the administration faces intense scrutiny from international legal organizations regarding threats against non-military targets. The previous day, Trump publicly asserted on social media that the U.S. would "bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT" in Iran for every act of aggression against foreign shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz. International law and the Geneva Conventions strictly prohibit deliberate strikes on civilian infrastructure that cause harm disproportionate to direct military objectives.
The combative back-and-forth also follows an embarrassing legal reversal for the Department of Justice just 24 hours prior. On Thursday, July 23, federal prosecutors were forced to withdraw subpoenas issued to three New York Times journalists. U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian sharply criticized the Justice Department during a Manhattan hearing for rushing the legal filings without adhering to constitutional safeguards protecting press freedom.
Rather than clarifying the legal boundaries of his administration's foreign policy strategy, Trump leaned back on his familiar playbook of dismissive rhetoric, casting one of the press corps' most crucial policy questions as nothing more than partisan hostility.
