NY Times Fires Back at Trump Trashing Reporter As ‘Lightweight Analyst’

(Photo by Christopher Beckett/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)

The New York Times fired back at Donald Trump Sunday after the president trashed one of their star reporters as a “lightweight analyst.”

Trump was upset over chief Washington correspondent David Sanger’s reporting on Trump’s handling of the Iran war in an article titled, Trump Signals Retreat From Goal of Regime Change in Iran.

Sanger cited a Friday Truth Social post where Trump wrote, “we are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East.”

Sanger’s article read:

As the U.S.-Israeli airstrike campaign got underway last month, the Trump administration said it aspired to create conditions for regime change in Tehran. The White House also said it aimed to completely strip Iran of its stockpile of nuclear fuel, which could be fashioned into a weapon.

But as Americans look at gasoline selling for around $4 a gallon, and Republicans become nervous about the economic backlash of the Pentagon’s call for $200 billion to replace its ammunition, it was no surprise that Mr. Trump sought to reassure Americans that the United States was “very close” to meeting its objectives.

Friday’s post appeared to retreat from earlier, more ambitious goals, omitting any reference to them. Instead, President Trump focused on weakening Iran’s military and defense capabilities, while vowing to defend U.S. allies in the Middle East.

Trump responded to the report by writing, “The United States has blown Iran off of the map, and yet their lightweight analyst, David Sanger, says that I haven’t met my own goals. Yes I have, and weeks ahead of schedule!” Trump wrote, adding, “Just like their incompetent Election coverage of me, The Failing New York Times always gets it wrong!”

On Sunday, Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander defended Sanger.

“David Sanger brings more than 40 years of experience as a foreign and Washington correspondent for The Times — and a reputation for non-partisanship — to his work. His piece is a fair and thorough analysis of what the U.S. military and American diplomats have and have not accomplished so far, and helps the country understand the state of the war and the president’s choices going forward,” Stadtlander wrote.

“It’s exactly the type of analysis an independent journalist is supposed to be doing,” he added.

Since the war began, Trump’s messaging on the U.S. goals in Iran and whether he planned to put boots on the ground to achieve them, has varied wildly. On Friday, he posted to Truth Social that he was “considering winding down” the war, even as he sent thousands of U.S. Marines to the region, and as the Department of Defense is reportedly seeking an additional $200 billion from Congress.

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