Trump angered by suggestion Iran now has leverage over him: 'So stupid'
President Donald Trump appeared angered by a reporter's suggestion on Monday that his negotiation tactics with Iran may be giving the regime leverage over him.
Trump held a press gaggle in the Oval Office after he signed an executive order to support America's quantum computing industry. While he was taking questions, one reporter asked Trump if he was willing to cause economic mayhem by striking Iran again, which Trump said was an option that he's considering. The back-and-forth escalated from there.
"War with Iran could cause worldwide depression, as you noted, Mr. President," the reporter began. "Are you willing to risk economic catastrophe and strike Iran again?"
"Well, not the way I'm doing it. It won't cause depression," Trump replied. "Nuclear weapon supersedes depression. Depression is real bad. Nuclear weapons will cause depression."
The reporter then asked if Trump's willingness to cause economic harm to Americans to continue fighting Iran gives the regime leverage over the Trump administration. Trump scoffed at the suggestion.
"Their Navy is gone. Their Air Force is gone. Their leaders are all dead. Their country is a mess. Their economy is shot," Trump began, repeating his claims from the weekend that recent reporting from The New York Times is "all wrong" about the state of Iran.
"The reason the news is doing so badly, or, put it another way, the reason why I won in a landslide even though I got 92% negative press is that nobody believes the press anymore, and they have to start believing," Trump said. "The Times and everybody else, they're grasping for straws."
Trump then claimed that the U.S. economy is doing well and continues to "set records" in performance. That's despite the most recent inflation report showing that inflation hit its highest point since the COVID-19 pandemic last month.
"So, when you ask a question like that," Trump said to the reporter, "it's so stupid."