First it was the Washington Post
Young voters helped elect Trump, but some have regrets over the Iran war
Joshua Byers was hopeful when he voted for Donald Trump in 2024. The 26-year-old document clerk believed the former and future president when he said he would lower prices and improve the lives of the working class.
Over a year into Trump’s second stint in the White House, and overwhelmed with concern about the war with Iran, buyer’s remorse has set in for Byers.
“I feel betrayed,” Byers told The Washington Post after participating in a focus group of young voters outside Charlotte. “I don’t know why we are fighting [in Iran] if we have never been attacked,” Byers told the group of around two dozen young people. “I just don’t understand why.”
The young voters’ frustrations signal a broader vulnerability for Republicans with a key prong of the unique coalition that powered Trump’s political comeback. The focus group in North Carolina, polling and a growing chorus of criticism from the male influencers who endorsed Trump suggest the rightward shift among men in their late teens and 20s in 2024 may have been an isolated incident.
So, they found a few Republicans (were they really?) who are upset, and decided to make a huge piece over it, and also do more “analysis” in yet another piece.
‘They hold the cards now’: Trump allies fear Iran is slipping beyond the president’s control
When the U.S. started firing Tomahawk missiles at Iran late last month, many of President Donald Trump’s allies hoped it would be a quick, surgical operation, similar to last year’s strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities or the ouster of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro in January.
Though uneasy, they were reassured by the belief that Trump’s open-ended objectives gave him the flexibility to declare victory whenever he saw fit.
Now, more than two weeks into the campaign, some of those allies believe the president no longer controls how, or when, the war ends. They fear Iran’s attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, which have rattled global crude markets and threaten broader economic distress, are boxing Trump into a situation where escalating the conflict — potentially even putting American boots on the ground — becomes the only way to credibly claim victory.
“We clearly just kicked [Iran’s] ass in the field, but, to a large extent, they hold the cards now,” said one person close to the White House, who like others in this story was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the war. “They decide how long we’re involved — and they decide if we put boots on the ground. And it doesn’t seem to me that there’s a way around that, if we want to save face.”
Oh, good, more anonymous sources. Leading to
Opinion | On Iran, Is Only Bad News Fit to Print?
President Trump’s complaints about the news coverage of the Iran war are predictable—and entirely justified. “We are totally destroying the terrorist regime of Iran, militarily, economically, and otherwise, yet, if you read the Failing New York Times, you would incorrectly think that we are not winning,” he wrote Friday morning on Truth Social. Pick up Sunday’s Times, and it’s as if the editors took that as a command rather than a criticism.
“War Sends More Tremors Through a Shaken World Economy,” reads a headline across the top of the front page, with the speculative subheadline “Fallout From Prolonged Conflict With Iran Could Bring ‘Catastrophic Consequences.’ ” Among the catastrophes the article cites: “In Kenya, tea growers and traders worried their exports to Iran would rot on the dock.” The other story above the front-page fold is a critique of the defense secretary: “Hegseth’s Vengeful Rhetoric Grew From Experience in Iraq.” (snip)
Like the Times, much of the news media seems determined to advance a narrative that Mr. Trump is wrong about everything and that the U.S. is getting its clock cleaned by a powerful Iranian war machine that has successfully made the transition to new leadership.
Journalists have a right and a duty to report bad news and to question Pollyannaish reports from the U.S. government. But many seem to be going beyond that and rooting for America to lose—against an enemy that is the world’s biggest state sponsor of terror, that has killed thousands of unarmed protesters, and that stockpiled thousands of ballistic missiles while seeking nuclear weapons, which its rulers promised to use against the U.S. and Israel.
Rooting?
Why Is the Media Rooting for Iran?
In one of the most shocking and seditious displays of media treachery in American history, the mainstream press now largely appears to be actively rooting against the success of U.S. operations in Iran – and in some cases is acting as a de facto propaganda bullhorn for the regime in Tehran to undermine public confidence in the military.
Even by the media’s own dismal standards for accuracy and integrity, the coverage of the Iran strikes has been appalling. (big snip)
But even beyond that, it’s worth reflecting on just how debased and deranged the media – and the entire liberal establishment – has become in their never-ending crusade to “get Trump.” The undeniable tone of the reporting, as well as comments from Democrats and liberal pundits, is almost relishing in any possible bad news. The press is eager to report on higher oil prices. They’re framing Iran – the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism responsible for hundreds of U.S. deaths and the mass murder of its own citizens – as a spunky underdog that’s carrying on against all odds.
It’s worth reading the whole thing. We shouldn’t be surprised that the Credentialed Media is rooting for Iran: Orange Man Bad is in office. We saw this during the Bush 43 admin, where they were quietly rooting for America to lose in Iraq, and even Afghanistan. They hate Trump much worse, and the news media is full of the wackos who were Nutroots bloggers back during the Bush 43 admin now. And they will simp for Iran, a sworn enemy of the U.S. A nation that would be more than happy to kill every one of them. Force the women to wear full body covers.
Read: New Media Talking Point: Trump Is Losing Republicans Over Iran »
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