PBS Reporter Says Trump Hung Up on Her After She Asked About His Threat About ‘Wiping Out a Civilization’

President Donald Trump arrives from the Blue Room to speak about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

Liz Landers, the White House correspondent for PBS NewsHour, spoke to President Donald Trump by phone on Wednesday morning, following Tuesday’s two-week ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran.

Landers reported some of the details of her call on social media and noted that the call ended abruptly when she asked a question that Trump did not like.

“I asked about Lebanon still being hit and if he’d seen that,” Landers reported, saying Trump replied, “Yeah they were not included in the deal.” She continued:

I asked why not – and if they should have been.

POTUS: “Because of Hezbollah. They were not included in the deal. That’ll get taken care of too. It’s alright.”

I asked, And you’re okay with the Israelis continuing to hit them?

POTUS: “It’s part of the deal – everyone knows that. That’s a separate skirmish. Okay? You gotta talk faster.”

I tried to ask if he regretted that Truth Social post about wiping out a civilization and noted that there was huge push back to that statement from Democrats. Then he hung up.

Trump kicked up a firestorm of controversy and condemnation on Tuesday by posting to Truth Social, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!”

The post resulted in over 80 House Democrats calling for Trump’s removal for office.

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