President Trump criticized the media on Saturday for their coverage of reports claiming that Iran had targeted five US refueling planes at a US base in Saudi Arabia.
Trump denounced what he called a "misleading headline" and disputed assertions that the planes had been rendered unusable.
He criticized what he described as "terrible reporting" and criticized those he referred to as "sick and demented people," following comments made by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth the day before regarding headlines critical of the Iran mission.
Taking to his Truth Social account from West Palm Beach, Florida, where he had traveled on Friday, Trump clarified that while the base had been hit a few days earlier, the planes themselves had not been "struck" or "destroyed."
He stated that four of the five planes had suffered minimal damage and were already operational again, with one having slightly more damage but expected to return to service shortly.
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal on Friday, five refueling tankers were impacted during an Iranian missile strike on the Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia, sustaining damage but not complete destruction.
Trump's comments on the refueling tankers came after US Central Command confirmed the deaths of all six Americans aboard another refueling aircraft, a KC-135, that was flying over western Iraq.
In his post, Trump singled out The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and what he labeled as "lowlife 'papers'" and media outlets that he accused of wanting the US to fail in the war.
Trump also criticized the media for their coverage of the first US casualties in the conflict, with Hegseth previously condemning what he perceived as the media's biased reporting.
Concluding his post, Trump asserted that the American people, as demonstrated by his "Great and Conclusive Election Win in 2024," have a better understanding of the situation than what he referred to as the "Fake News Media."
Earlier in the week, Trump targeted veteran New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, whom he had frequently communicated with during his first term, referring to her as "maggot" and accusing her of writing false stories about him. He hinted at adding her to his $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times.
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