Donald Trump lashed out at a Fox News correspondent on Friday, calling his question about Russian intelligence sharing with Iran 'stupid'. The incident occurred at the end of a White House roundtable on college sports, when the president called on Peter Doocy.
Doocy asked about reports from the Washington Post and Fox News that Russia is providing Iran with intelligence to help target US assets in retaliatory strikes. Trump cut him off, joking that the issue was 'an easy problem' compared to college sports, then scolded the reporter: 'What a stupid question that is to be asking at this time. We’re talking about something else.'
The Associated Press reported on Friday that Russia has provided Iran with information that could help it 'strike American warships, aircraft and other assets in the region,' according to two US officials familiar with the intelligence. Trump later gave Doocy 'one more chance' but refused to discuss anything beyond sports. When pressed on why he was holding a sports event amid the war, Trump briefly addressed Iran, saying, 'We’re doing very well. I give it a 12 to a 15' out of 10.
Trump has largely avoided questions from reporters since launching the war on Iran in concert with Israel. On his return to the White House from Mar-a-Lago, he ignored shouted questions about Iran, instead admiring newly installed statues of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested Trump was aware of the Russian role and had 'a knack at knowing how to mitigate those risks', but did not say whether Trump had confronted Vladimir Putin over the matter.
