Donald Trump Lashes Out at Reporter During Press Conference: 'You're Fake!' 

President Donald Trump lashed out at a reporter from The New York Times during a rambling press conference on Monday, April 6, in which the reporter questioned his obscene threats to bomb Iranian infrastructure.

The exchange began when reporter Zolan Kanno-Youngs asked whether the president's threats to bomb Iranian infrastructure, such as power plants and bridges, would violate the Geneva Conventions and constitute war crimes.

Trump interrupted the question to ask which outlet Kanno-Youngs represented and to mock The New York Times' circulation before dismissing the legal concern and arguing that the U.S. had been negotiating fruitlessly with Iran for decades. He then told Kanno-Youngs he had "no longer any credibility" and labeled the outlet "fake."

Upon hearing "The New York Times," the president pounced, saying, "Failing, failing! Circulation way down ... What's going on with that?"

"Quiet, quiet, quiet! You no longer have credibility, The New York Times, because The New York Times said, 'Oh, Trump won't win the election,' and I won in a landslide. I won every swing state!" he continued.

Despite his insistence, Trump, according to experts such as Ted Siraki, professor of Arts and Social Sciences at the National University of Singapore, did not win in a landslide.

If historical precedent is any indication, the Republicans’ win was not a landslide," Siraki wrote.

"The New York Times said, 'Oh, Trump won't win the election.' The New York Times says no credibility,” the president snapped.

"The credibility they have is it used to be all the news that's fit to print. A great, the old gray lady, it was great, but they're running on past fumes, and you can't keep doing that,” Trump snapped. "You have to be able to give the correct news and people like you who I know are fake. You're FAKE!"

When pressed on potential war crimes, Trump stated, "No, not at all. I hope I don't have to do it," and argued that the U.S. had been negotiating fruitlessly with Iran for 47 years.

During the same briefing, Trump separately threatened to jail journalists who refuse to reveal their sources, specifically referring to reports about a rescue mission for a U.S. airman in Iran.

The threat centers on a "leak" regarding the status of two crew members whose F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down over Iran on Friday, April 3. While one pilot was rescued quickly, a second airman remained missing and evaded capture in Iranian territory for nearly 48 hours.

Trump stated the government would approach the media company responsible for the report and demand the source's identity under the grounds of national security. He explicitly said, "Give it up or go to jail."

The New York Times issued a statement defending Kanno-Youngs and condemning the president’s "derisive comments.”

“President Trump’s derisive comments to a New York Times reporter today are the latest example in his pattern of answering fair questions with inaccurate attacks,” the newspaper said in a statement on Monday.

"Contrary to the president’s false claims, our extensive reporting and polling during the 2024 presidential campaign captured the race in full, including his advantages. Mr. Trump himself celebrated this polling and reporting numerous times.”