Fox News host Laura Ingraham raised questions Friday about President Donald Trump’s repeated claims that Iran’s military had been severely weakened, pointing to a report that Iranian threats prompted security officials to advise against using a gifted Qatari jet for one of the president’s overseas trips.
Speaking on The Ingraham Angle, Ingraham referenced reporting from The New York Times that said U.S. officials determined there was what they described as a credible threat from Iranian proxy forces targeting both Trump and Air Force One during his return trip from the NATO Summit in Turkey. According to the report, multiple people briefed on the matter said the security concerns led officials to recommend that Trump not use the $400 million aircraft gifted by Qatar.
Speculation about the reason behind Trump’s decision to switch back to the original Air Force One had circulated since early July. At the time, however, the president publicly offered a different explanation, saying he wanted American troops stationed in Britain to have an opportunity to see the Qatari aircraft.
Ingraham argued that the reported security concerns appear difficult to reconcile with the administration’s public assessment of Iran’s military capabilities.
“So, if Iran can credibly threaten Air Force One overseas,” Ingraham said during Friday’s broadcast, “we didn’t decimate their military capabilities, obviously. They are still capable of a lot of harm.”
Her remarks were directed at the president’s repeated statements throughout the conflict that Iran had been “decimated for a 10-year period.” Ingraham suggested that if the reported threat assessment was accurate, it demonstrated that Iran and its proxy forces remain capable of posing serious risks despite the administration’s claims about the success of military operations.
The conflict involving Iran began on Feb. 28. A tentative ceasefire was reached in April before later collapsing. Another memorandum of understanding was reached in late June but was also broken, and military exchanges between the United States and Iran have continued since then.
The fighting has remained deadly. Just this past weekend, four American service members were killed as the conflict continued to escalate following the collapse of previous diplomatic efforts.
The New York Times report also became entangled in a legal dispute over efforts by the government to identify sources connected to early reporting about Trump’s aircraft decision.
On Thursday, the Department of Justice withdrew subpoenas seeking phone records and grand jury testimony from three reporters involved in covering the initial speculation surrounding the plane switch. The move came after Federal Judge Arun Subramanian sharply criticized the government’s handling of the matter and indicated he would quash the subpoenas. The judge questioned whether prosecutors had met the legal standards required before subpoenaing journalists.
Despite the Justice Department’s decision to withdraw the subpoenas, Trump defended the investigation on Friday. The president maintained that the purpose of the subpoenas was solely to identify the individuals responsible for leaking information, insisting the effort was focused on finding the “leakers” behind the reports.
