Trump Fumes at Fox’s Peter Doocy: ‘What a Stupid Question’
President Donald Trump snapped at Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy on Friday after the journalist asked about new claims that Russia may be helping Iran target U.S. troops.
The tense exchange unfolded at the end of a White House College Sports Roundtable, when Doocy raised The Washington Post’s exclusive reporting, 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 president then moved on to the next question.
The exchange came hours after The Post reported that Russia may be providing Iran with assistance in identifying and targeting U.S. forces in the region. Citing three people familiar with the ongoing conflict, the newspaper reported that Moscow is believed to have offered technical help to Tehran as Iran seeks to strike American personnel.
“It does seem like it’s a pretty comprehensive effort,” one of the people familiar with the situation said in the article.
The allegations come following heightened tensions following joint U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran last weekend. Since the attacks began, six U.S. service members have been killed by Iranian strikes.
Doocy, however, was not the first Fox News journalist to raise the issue with the White House on Friday. Earlier on Friday, the network’s anchor John Roberts received a similarly dismissive response from press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Pressed on the allegations, 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.”
She added she would “leave [questions around Russia’s involvement] to the president to answer himself.”
Hours later, Doocy tried to get that answer himself, only to be met with a blunt rebuke.
The reluctance to engage publicly with the report comes as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday that Trump “may unsanction” Russian oil to increase global supply and ease surging energy prices during the U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran.
Watch above via CSPAN.
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