Donald Trump reveals how 'fake news' CNN prompted one of the most consequential moments of his presidency
Trump spoke about the period in late June when he suddenly announced he would decide 'within two weeks' whether or not to join Israel 's attack on Iran, only to bomb key nuclear facilities two days later.
He made the comment after describing a 'hidden press' in the country and saying 'word of mouth is more important than the press,' and blaming the media for the timing of his attack.
He was contrasting the attack on three Iran nuclear facilities with the attempt to rescue American hostages that Jimmy Carter ordered in 1980.
'The helicopters were coming down, and they were crashing and men were all over the place trying to get the hell out of there,' Trump said, having previously said that in contrast the U.S. 'totally obliterated' Iran's nuclear sites.
Trump described a previously reported diversionary tactic of sending B-2 stealth bombers to Guam.
'Everybody thought we were flying to Guam, and they said, Oh, they're going to Guam. Well, Guam's out of the way. At the same time, we had some others go in a different direction,' Trump said.
Then he complained about watching 'horrible' CNN.
'And I saw that they had basically the plans of when we're going in, when we would be entering Iranian oil airspace and, and I said, you know, that's weird,' he said, apparently referencing reports that said an attack could come within days.
He says he called Gen. Dan 'Razin' Caine and Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth.
'I said, I'm watching newscasts where they're saying what time you're taking off tomorrow and what time you're going to be entering the very dangerous air space, the worst air space anywhere there is anywhere that in the world.'
Trump says they told him 'We'll blow them away, and we'll be fine.'
'I said, "but wouldn't a surprise be better?" Yeah, it would be better. I said, well, then let me cancel it and make it a different time.'
'I said, I'm canceling it,' Trump said. 'And then I had a meeting, and I said, I have an idea ... So everyone knew was being canceled. I said, let's leave it the exact same time we were supposed to.' The strikes occurred shortly after midnight on Saturday June 21.
'That was the only time they knew we wouldn't be coming in,' Trump said, earning applause from the crowd of donors he said were organized by head of his faith office Paula White-Cain.
Trump also shared new operational details about the mission, which was carried out by B-2 bombers based at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.
'We had 52 tankers, tankers, the gasoline tankers, and they rode along with them at different aspects, and they refuel and not a not a screw was broken, not a nut, not a not a mark was on those planes,' Trump said.
'Every engine was perfect when they landed. They were just as good as when they took us. Think of that 37 hours and about 40 minutes to a very rough territory,' Trump said.
As it turns out, 52 is the exact number mentioned four years ago when he warned Iran not to retaliate after ordering the strike that took out Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
'We have … targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture' and 'if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets… Iran itself, will be hit very fast and very hard,' Trump posted on Twitter (now X).
Trump's comments about Iran came at an event that ended in prayer which ended with a brief performance of religious music by White's husband, Jonathan Cain of Journey.
Trump has previously gone after the network for airing reports questioning the effectiveness of the strike on the nuclear facilities.
Daily Mail has asked the White House for information on any specific report that prompted Trump to change an attack plan and has also reached out to CNN.
Trump's remarks included multiple elements of what Trump calls the 'weave,' when he brings together disparate stories.
He called fed chair Jerome Powell a 'knucklehead,' blasted transgender men taking part in women's sports, went after Sen. Susan Collins for opposing his 'big, beautiful bill,' and made several jokes about wealthy attendees.
Trump said the case for his megabill was easy because it would either make the economy strong if it passed, 'or you're going to literally have perhaps a depression where you people – so rich, so beautiful, so nice to look at, will be totally busted. And let's see how long your wife stays with you.'
Trump said he was spared from assassin's bullet by God, and also went after his former Energy Secretary Rick Perry for suggesting he phone Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. That call ultimately led to his impeachment after he asked Zelensky to investigate his then-rival Joe Biden.
'I get indicted for making a phone call. I told that Secretary – who wasn't the smartest bulb, he wasn't – Rick Perry, you don't want him on your debate team, let me put it that way. Rick, you're not going to be on my debate team, Rick. But he's the one that asked me to do it, Rick Perry. And I said, Thanks, Rick. That was a wonderful suggestion. He just got indicted ...' drawing laughs.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
19 minutes ago
- Reuters
US launches new bid to keep migrants detained by denying hearings, memo shows
WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) - The Trump administration is launching a new effort to keep immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally detained by denying them bond hearings, an internal memo showed, a change that could further swell the numbers of those held. The guidance by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a portion of which Reuters reviewed, could be applied to millions of people who crossed the border illegally and are contesting their deportation. President Donald Trump has vowed mass deportations, which he says are needed after high levels of illegal immigration under his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden. Congress passed a spending law this month that provides funding to detain at least 100,000 people, a steep increase over the record 58,000 in custody by late June. The Washington Post first reported, opens new tab the new ICE policy limiting bond hearing eligibility, citing a July 8 memo by its acting director, Todd Lyons. The guidance shared with Reuters called for ICE to interpret several immigration law provisions as "prohibitions on release" after an arrest, adding the shift in policy was "likely to be litigated." It encouraged ICE prosecutors "to make alternative arguments in support of continued detention" during immigration court hearings. The new policy appeared to reverse legal standards governing detention for decades, said Tom Jawetz, a former homeland security official in the Biden administration, calling it "a radical departure that could explode the detention population." The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Daily Mail
19 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Peace is finally coming between Russia and Ukraine... but this is why it's NOT all good news and how it could lead to a new, far more deadly conflict we'll all be dragged into: MARK ALMOND
What a difference four months makes. At the end of February, the Ukrainian cause had never looked more hopeless after the now-notorious televised confrontation between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office. When the Ukrainian president said, quite rightly, that Putin could not be trusted, Trump launched a brutal verbal assault, threatening to abandon him and his country unless he went along with Washington's ceasefire plans.
.jpg%3Fwidth%3D1200%26height%3D800%26crop%3D1200%3A800&w=3840&q=100)
The Independent
25 minutes ago
- The Independent
Tomatoes are set to jump in price as Trump slaps a 17% tariff on the grocery staple
Donald Trump has imposed a 17 percent tariff on tomatoes imported from Mexico, leaving shoppers and business owners bracing for the price of the grocery staple to increase. The tariffs took effect on Monday after the U.S. withdrew from the Tomato Suspension Agreement, a nearly three-decade-old trade agreement between the two countries. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said that American farmers had 'been crushed by unfair trade practices' and that the existing agreement had failed to protect U.S. producers like tomato growers. 'That ends today,' Lutnick continued. 'This rule change is in line with President Trump's trade policies and approach with Mexico.' The Commerce Department said that the 17 percent import tax is calculated to measure the percentage by which Mexican tomatoes have been sold in the U.S. at unfair prices. The levies mark one of the latest examples of the president's chaotic tariff policy, which analysts say contributed to inflation reaching 2.7 percent in June. As consumers battle increasing prices, the measure will likely result in higher costs at supermarkets and restaurants. 'I give it three months, and then we go bankrupt,' Teresa Razo, owner of two Argentine-Italian restaurants in Southern California, told CNN. Justin De Leon, co-owner of Apollonia's Pizza in Los Angeles, told the outlet that Trump's tariffs have created 'instability' and 'fear.' About 70 percent of tomatoes consumed in the U.S. are imported from Mexico, according to the Florida Tomato Exchange. In 2023, the U.S. imported approximately $2.5 billion in fresh tomatoes from Mexico. Field-grown tomatoes cost U.S. shoppers about $1.70 per pound as of May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Timothy Richards, a professor of agribusiness at Arizona State University, estimates that consumers could face about a 10 percent price rise for fresh tomatoes while demand may fall by 5 percent. The Mexican government has refuted claims that it dumped tomatoes on the U.S. market at low prices, instead insisting that their popularity was due to the quality of the product. Backers of the tariff argue that it will funnel more business to domestic tomato growers, largely in Florida. But given the volume of the fruit imported, Mexico's economy and agriculture ministry said it would be 'impossible to substitute Mexican tomatoes.' Officials in Mexico stated that they would attempt to negotiate a new agreement before its producers were affected and assist growers in finding alternative markets. The U.S. tomato industry brought a case against its Mexican competitors in 1996, arguing that American growers were being harmed. Through the Tomato Suspension Agreement, the U.S. trade court ordered tariffs to be imposed. However, on five occasions since then – in 1996, 2002, 2008, 2013, and 2019 – the U.S. agreed to suspend the tariffs on the condition that Mexican growers would sell products at a level above a set minimum.
