Reading · ConWebWatch · RSS Amplifier

WorldNetDaily’s treatment of President Trump’s adventures in Iran have been largely split between full-throated Trump Regime Media tempered by questions about the entire venture. An April 2025 article by Joe Kovacs tried to be alarmist in quoting a critic:

Popular journalist Tucker Carlson is now issuing a stark warning against any U.S. military strike on Iran, calling it “suicidal” and claiming “we’d lose the war that follows.”
“Whatever you think of tariffs, it’s clear that now is the worst possible time for the United States to participate in a military strike on Iran,” Carlson posted on X Monday.
“Thousands of Americans would die. We’d lose the war that follows.
“Nothing would be more destructive to our country. And yet we’re closer than ever, thanks to unrelenting pressure from neocons.
“This is suicidal. Anyone advocating for conflict with Iran is not an ally of the United States, but an enemy.”

But when Trump did launch military strikes at Iran, WND quickly changed its tune — it is a Trump Regime Media outlet, after all. An anonymously written June 2025 article helped Trump gush over the strikes:

President Trump announced Saturday that the U.S. had successfully bombed multiple nuclear sites in Iran, representing the first time the United States has conducted a direct attack on the regime.
“We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,” Trump wrote in the post. “All planes are now outside of Iran air space.”
He said a “full payload of BOMBS” was dropped on the primary site, Fordow.
[…]
All planes are safely on their way home, according to Trump.
“Congratulations to our great American Warriors,” he wrote. “There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

WND followed that with more articles defending Trump and bashing his critics:

Another June 2025 article by Kovacs, however, did raise questions about whether Trump’s Iran strikes were constitutional. Kovacs followed that with an article fretting that former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev delcared that “A number of countries are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads.” A June 23 article by Kovacs touted Trump sounding panicky over the threat:

President Donald Trump expressed concern Monday over a statement by the former president of Russia who is now warning: “A number of countries are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads.”
The comment comes from Dmitry Medvedev, who is currently the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council.
Trump is now asking rhetorically on Truth Social: “Did I hear Former President Medvedev, from Russia, casually throwing around the ‘N word’ (Nuclear!), and saying that he and other Countries would supply Nuclear Warheads to Iran?
“Did he really say that or, is it just a figment of my imagination? If he did say that, and, if confirmed, please let me know, IMMEDIATELY.
“The ‘N word’ should not be treated so casually. I guess that’s why Putin’s ‘THE BOSS.’”
Trump concluded his message by noting: “By the way, if anyone thinks our ‘hardware’ was great over the weekend, far and away the strongest and best equipment we have, 20 years advanced over the pack, is our Nuclear Submarines. They are the most powerful and lethal weapons ever built, and just launched the 30 Tomahawks – All 30 hit their mark perfectly. So, in addition to our Great Fighter Pilots, thank you to the Captain and Crew!”

Kovacs’ concern about Russia is an about-face from WND’s usual pro-Russia sympathies. Just a few weeks earlier, Kovacs was freaking out over Ukraine’s audacious drone attack on military assets deep inside Russia.

When Trump renewed his bombing campaign in Iran, WND did its usual Trump Regime Media routine. For instance:

Interestingly, WND also touted criticism of Trump’s war by its fellow right-wingers. Joe Kovacs wrote in a March 1 article:

Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News anchor who has been extremely critical of Israel in recent months, is reportedly going scorched earth against President Trump in the wake of Operation Epic Fury as the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran to completely destroy its nuclear weapon capabilities.
In a video posted on social media, ABC News anchor Jonathan Karl said he reached out to Carlson for comment on the military action.
“He told me of the president’s decision is ‘absolutely disgusting and evil.’ This is Tucker Carlson who was at the White House just last week, said that the decision to go to war with Iran is absolutely disgusting and evil,” Karl explained.
“Now that’s just one person, a prominent one in Trump’s movement. But this is a momentous and potentially defining or maybe redefining move for President Trump. He got in to politics, in part, promising to end what he called ‘forever wars.’ He [Trump] was harshly critical of the war with Iraq. He claimed that he had always been against it. And now he finds himself starting what could be a major conflict with Iran.”
[…]
Former Republican Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a previous staunch ally of Trump, also slammed the president for the strike on Iran.
“We said ‘No More Foreign Wars, No More Regime Change!’ We said it on rally stage after rally stage, speech after speech. Trump, Vance, basically the entire admin campaigned on it and promised to put America FIRST and Make America Great Again.”

Kovacs also made sure to note right-wing criticism of Carlson’s stance:

Fox News anchor Mark Levin called Carlson a “deranged traitor” in reaction to his remarks.
“For now I’ll say he’s a disgusting Woke Reich lowlife. He trashes our country and president in the middle of a military campaign against an enemy that has murdered over 1,000 Americans and maimed thousands more.”
“This bum has pranced around the Middle East giving aid and comfort to our enemies. And today he’s stabbing the president in the back and smearing our nation. He lies and propagandizes, and spews his cancerous bigotry, anti-Semitism, and Christian-trashing. Even Qatar is condemning Iran. But not Carlson. He attacks his own country. You’ve every reason to despise him.”

The next day, Kovacs served up another criticism of Trump’s war from a fellow “conservative champion”:

Conservative champion Matt Walsh, who gained worldwide notoriety with his eye-opening documentary “What Is a Woman?,” is now seriously questioning President Donald Trump’s Operation Epic Fury in Iran.
In a series of posts on social media, Walsh wondered: “What exactly is the end game? ‘The Iranian people rise up and take control of their government’? Okay what does that mean exactly? Which people? How are they taking control? What happens after they do take control?
“Are we sure the new people, whoever they are, will be better than the old people? How are we going to make sure of that? How are we going to make sure of it while also not putting boots on the ground? This has not been explained. It needs to be.”

After noting that White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt “posted a statement reiterating the president’s goals,” Kovacs wrote:

In response to Leavitt, Walsh indicated: “So far we’ve heard that although we killed the whole Iranian regime, this was not a regime change war. And although we obliterated their nuclear program, we had to do this because of their nuclear program. And although Iran was not planning any attacks on the US, they also might have been, depending on who you ask. And although we are not fighting this war to free the Iranian people, they are now free, or might be, depending on who seizes power, and we have no idea who that will be. The messaging on this thing is, to put it mildly, confused.”
He also noted: “It’s just a basic fact of life that, generally speaking, the most ruthless and violent forces will be the ones who seize the crown. What exactly is the mechanism by which we plan to ensure that the secular ‘pro-western’ factions in Iran, who are by definition not barbaric killers, somehow manage to fill the power vacuum and prevail over the factions that are indeed barbaric killers? I’m not a foreign policy expert. I admit that. I’m just a common sense guy, and a student of history. So someone explain it to me.”
“Regime change wars in the Middle East coupled with a homeland flooded with third world Islamist migrants is a very volatile combination,” Walsh added.
“I know some of my followers here are annoyed at me but I have to call it like I see it. A basic level of honesty is an obligation that comes with having a public platform. This operation seemed like a bad idea to me before it happened, and I said so. Now that it is happening, I’m not going to suddenly change my tune. It still seems like a bad idea to me. I hope I’m wrong. But that’s how I see it.”
Sean Davis, CEO and founder of the right-leaning Federalist, also is wondering aloud about “any coherent objective.”
“Is the goal to eliminate the Iranian regime or free the Iranian people or degrade their nuclear capability or degrade the conventional weapons capability or eliminate their regional hegemony or to cut off their oil supply to China or to help Israel or what?” Davis said on X.
“The lack of any coherent message seems to suggest the lack of any coherent objective.”

It seems WND is the one that lacks a coherent message.

Full Trump Regime Media

WorldNetDaily eventually got over its initial trepidation over President Trump’s war on Iran to become a full Trump Regime Media outlet, no matter how contradictory:

Joe Kovacs helped Trump target a former official in a March 17 article:

President Donald Trump on Tuesday reacted to the resignation of the director of the National Counterterrorism Center who objects to Operation Epic Fury against Iran by saying: “It’s a good thing he’s out” and that he’s “very weak on security.”
Joe Kent, who says it was “an honor” to serve Trump, announced on X: “After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today.”
“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
Kent was serving under Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence.
In his resignation letter, he cited a “misinformation campaign” by high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of U.S. media that undermined Trump’s America First platform.
[…]
Jacqui Heinrich of Fox News reported: “Senior admin official says Joe Kent was ‘a known leaker’ – and was cut out of POTUS intelligence briefings months ago. He has not been part of any Iran planning discussions or briefings at all. Official says also the White House told DNI Gabbard Kent should be fired for suspected leaks, but she never did.”
During an Oval Office meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin on Tuesday, Trump said of Kent’s resignation: “I always thought he was weak on security. Very weak on security.”
[…]
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed the president about Kent, saying: “There are many false claims in this letter but let me address one specifically: that ‘Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation.’
She says evidence of Iran’s imminent threat “was compiled from many sources and factors. President Trump would never make the decision to deploy military assets against a foreign adversary in a vacuum. Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. The Iranian regime is evil. It proudly killed Americans, waged war against our country, and openly threatened us all the way up to the launch of Operation Epic Fury.”

Kovacs failed to note that Leavitt didn’t actually disprove anything Kent said.

Thanks for reading ConWebWatch! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Kovacs served up more regime propaganda in an April 20 article:

President Donald Trump on Monday pushed back against speculation he initiated Operation Epic Fury against Iran at the behest of Israel, while blasting media coverage of the U.S. military action he believes can lead to a “great and prosperous future” for the Islamic Republic.
“Israel never talked me into the war with Iran, the results of Oct. 7th, added to my lifelong opinion that IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON, did,” Trump said on Truth Social.
“I watch and read the FAKE NEWS Pundits and Polls in total disbelief. 90% of what they say are lies and made up stories, and the polls are rigged, much as the 2020 Presidential Election was rigged.
“Just like the results in Venezuela, which the media doesn’t like talking about, the results in Iran will be amazing – And if Iran’s new leaders (Regime Change!) are smart, Iran can have a great and prosperous future!”

Kovacs offered no evidence to back up Trump’s claims.

WND kept up its Trump Regime Media treatment of the war in Iran:

WND was particularly annoyed that former President Obama had things to say about Trump’s alleged deal. Kovacs wrote in a June 14 article:

Shortly before President Donald Trump announced a peace deal with Iran had been completed precluding the Islamic Republic from possessing or procuring a nuclear weapon, former President Barack Obama slammed Trump’s efforts.
The accompanying reader for this question was: “Does Barack Obama actually WANT Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon?”
ABC’s Robin Roberts of “Good Morning America” asked Obama Saturday in an interview to fully air on Wednesday: “You spent a lot of time wrestling with a nuclear Iran. How do you think things are being handled right now?”
Obama responded: “It is doubtful that any agreement that arises is going to be significantly different or a significant improvement from the deal that we had in the first place and had worked for a long stretch of time before we, the United States, pulled out.”
“I’m hopeful that the bombing stops and ordinary people are no longer suffering as a consequence of the war,” he continued.
[…]
In a follow-up post, Trump took a shot at Obama and other commanders in chief, saying: “This Great Deal will bring Peace and Security to the whole Region. Many presidents have tried to make Peace with Iran, and all have failed before me.
“The Leaders of the Region have, for the first time, found a President who can help them achieve real Peace. With the opening of the Strait upon the signing of the Deal on Friday, for purposes of mine removal, oil will flow on both ends again for the Region, and the World!”
[…]
Trump also pounded Obama by name on Saturday, indicating: “Barack Hussein Obama’s Deal with Iran, the JCPOA, was an easy, beautiful, smooth road to a Nuclear Weapon, which Iran would have had six years ago, and would have used long before now. My Agreement with Iran is the exact opposite, A WALL TO NO NUCLEAR WEAPON!”

The same day, Kovacs also wrote:

Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said President Donald Trump has “every intent” to get the peace deal with Iran signed on Sunday, and revealed significant changes from what he called the “horrible” deal that Barack Obama made with the Islamic Republic.
“There are two fundamental changes from the horrible Obama deal,” Waltz told Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures” on the Fox News Channel. “One is the verification.”
“Under Obama’s deal, there was not anytime-anywhere verification. They could determine or even delay the inspectors, or most importantly, they could just call a site a military site. And then it was off-limits. There is no trust. There is all about verify, number one.
“And then number two, you’re not gonna see these pallets of cash moving up front. It is going to be pay be performance. And, oh by the way, you have to come to a U.N. Security Council resolution that we snapped back to in terms of lifting sanctions on the Iranian economy.
“And then finally, the blockade. This is a huge difference from the past. President Trump’s blockade has been enormously effective. This is why you see the regime practically begging for access to any type of economic lifeline. But again, they’re not going to get it till they live up to their end of the bargain.
“So President Trump knowns how to drive a deal, and unlike his predecessors, he’s got the great United States military and very effective actions by [Treasury] Secretary Scott Bessent to keep a foot on the neck of the regime’s economy. So all of these things have me incredibly confident that we’re going to continue to bargain and negotiate from a position of strength.”

Kovacs made no effort to fact-check Waltz’s claims, so he’s just serving as a stenographer, not doing actual reporting.

Kovacs touted another Trump meltdown in a June 15 article:

President Donald Trump is calling for the impeachment of U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., for allegedly lying about the just completed deal with Iran.
On “Fox News Sunday” with Shannon Bream, Reed, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, had stated, “The point the president just made that they agreed not to develop a nuclear weapon, they did that with President Obama’s JCPOA. That was an agreement they held to, not to develop a nuclear weapon.
“So we have spent billions of dollars, we’ve lost 14 personnel killed in action, hundreds wounded, and we disrupted the world economy and we’re getting basically less than what we had under the JCPOA which President Trump walked away from.”
Reed added: “Reuters is reporting that part of the deal is $24 billion in sanctions relief for the Iranians. So this is not a ‘we win and you do what we say.’ This is, ‘how can we open up the straits? What will it cost us?’”
Hours later, Trump took to Truth Social to respond, saying: “Senator Jack Reed, a Dumocrat from R.I., lied when stating the Deal we just made is not as good as the Obama disaster known as the JCPOA.
“Reed is either an outright fraud, or incompetent. The Obuma Deal was a road to a Nuclear weapon for Iran, cash and all, one of the worst and dumbest (hence Dumocrats!)
“Deals ever made by the U.S. Our Deal is a WALL against Iran ever having a Nuclear weapon, the complete opposite of Obuma. Impeach Jack Reed!”

The question of the day leaned further into Trump, asking: “Should Sen. Jack Reed be impeached?”

Thanks for reading ConWebWatch! This post is public so feel free to share it.

No posts

WND Wavers On Trump And Iran

Comments