{"id":234204,"date":"2026-05-16T22:35:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T22:35:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/234204\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T22:35:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T22:35:11","slug":"new-york-times-journalist-fires-back-at-trump-reporting-is-not-treason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/234204\/","title":{"rendered":"New York Times Journalist Fires Back At Trump: ‘Reporting Is Not Treason’"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York Times<\/a> reporter David Sanger defended himself and fired back at President Donald Trump <\/a>Friday night after being called \u201ctreasonous\u201d <\/a>on Air Force One.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, reporting is not treason, right? And you\u2019ve been on the receiving end of these probably more than I have, and we all know what this is about,\u201d Sanger told CNN host Kaitlan Collins<\/a> Friday night. \u201cIt is an effort to intimidate news organizations into not doing the reporting, but reporting is the fundamental First Amendment responsibility that we have to go about.\u201d<\/p>\n

The president blasted Sanger during a face-to-face two-minute rant after he pressed Trump on why the U.S. was continuing its attack on Iran despite not getting \u201cthe political changes\u201d he asked for. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had a total victory except like people like you that don\u2019t write the truth. … I actually think it\u2019s sort of treasonous what you write, but you and The New York Times and CNN I would say are the worst,\u201d Trump berated the reporter.<\/p>\n

Trump to NYT’s David Sanger: “I had a total military victory. But the fake news, guys like you, write incorrectly. You’re a fake guy. We had a total military victory. I actually think it’s sort of treasonous what you write. You should be ashamed of yourself. I actually think it’s\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/QK421YHKtq<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI actually think it\u2019s treason when you write like, they\u2019re doing well militarily, and they have no navy, no air force, no anti-anything,\u201d the president continued.<\/p>\n

Trump went on to attack the Times, claiming its \u201csubscribers are way down.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe president seems to conflate news he doesn\u2019t want to hear with treason, and that\u2019s not the case,\u201d Sanger said. \u201cLook, he himself ran for office arguing that the United States made all the biggest mistakes that it could make in Afghanistan and Iraq. And he knew that from enterprising reporting that was appearing in the New York Times on CNN and elsewhere.\u201d <\/p>\n

CNN\u2019s Jake Tapper,<\/a> who condemned Trump\u2019s attack, stated that \u201creporting these facts isn\u2019t treason and it\u2019s deranged for any president to say such a thing, and potentially dangerous for the reporters he\u2019s accusing of treason.\u201d <\/p>\n

The New York Times addressed Trump\u2019s comments in a statement echoing Sanger\u2019s measured responses.<\/p>\n

\u201cReporting isn\u2019t treason. It\u2019s foundational to a free press and the work that America\u2019s founders wrote the First Amendment to protect. That includes making clear when the claims of government officials and the reality of their actions don\u2019t line up,\u201d Charlie Stadtlander, a spokesperson for the Times, wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur reporters, in this case, have been working carefully to provide the public with the fullest possible understanding of the reality of the military action in Iran,\u201d Stadtlander continued. \u201cWe will continue this important, constitutionally protected work.\u201d<\/p>\n