Donald Trump blasted a Fox News reporter on Friday for asking what the president said was a “stupid question” about recent reporting suggesting Russia is helping Iran target the U.S. in the ongoing conflict.
When correspondent Peter Doocy asked the president about the report during an unrelated White House event, Trump grew visibly annoyed.
“That’s an easy problem compared to what we’re doing here,” the president said. “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.”
Later Friday, MS NOW anchor Chris Hayes defended Doocy’s question, using a mocking tone to highlight Trump’s apparent irritation about being asked about the war during a White House event on college sports.
“You’re asking me about war?” Hayes said. “About our American service members being targeted by an adversary at a time like this when I am trying to solve the transfer portal?”
Trump officials have either downplayed or refused to comment on the reporting from the Washington Post, which quoted unnamed officials saying the Russians were engaging in a “comprehensive” effort to help Iran locate U.S. assets including warships and aircraft.
“We don’t comment on intelligence reports that are leaked to the press,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News earlier on Friday. “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.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said U.S. forces are “tracking everything” when it comes to intelligence threats surrounding the conflict with Iran.
“Our commanders are aware of everything,” he told 60 Minutes. “We have the best intelligence in the world. We’re aware of who is talking to who, why they’re talking to ‘em, how accurate that information might be.”
When pressed if that means President Trump will bring up the alleged aid with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Hegseth praised the Trump’s diplomatic skills.
“President Trump, as people have seen, has a unique relationship with a lot of world leaders, where he can get things done that other presidents, certainly Joe Biden, never could have,” Hegseth said.
The reported Russian aid is the latest sign of how the war with Iran is widening.
In addition to U.S. strikes in Iran and international waters, Iran has retaliated with attacks in Israel and on U.S. interests around the Middle East, including a strike at a base in Kuwait that killed six American troops.
The president has suggested that retaliatory strikes are possible on U.S. soil, too.
“We think about it all the time,” he told TIME. “We plan for it. But yeah, you know, we expect some things. Like I said, some people will die. When you go to war, some people will die.”
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