TDS, or Trump Derangement Syndrome, where one's hatred for President Trump inhibits one's ability to think fairly and logically, where every move Donald Trump makes, everything he does, is viewed by the TDS sufferer as evil, has seemingly overwhelmed the liberal media's coverage of Trump dating back to his first run for the presidency. We shouldn't be surprised that it has manifested itself stronger than ever in their coverage of the war with Iran, something Fox News's Laura Ingraham pointed out Tuesday night on The Ingraham Angle
Ingraham, focused her attention on the war coverage of CNN and The New York Times, labeling them The Ayatollah's Besties, and began by pointing out, "The drumbeat from the U.S. Press corps since Operation Epic Fury began has been relentlessly pessimistic, that despite America's superior fire power, Iran is grinding down the American military. She then read from an X post from Democrat Strategist Mark Penn.
Iran Coverage
The headlines abound:
Iran Regime doing well, in control
Trump under pressure to end war
Khomeini son just as tough as Father
US responsible for missile on school
One headline after another essentially featuring Iranian propaganda as the news.
Where are the…
— Mark Penn (@Mark_Penn) March 10, 2026
Some Google searches reveal these are not actual headlines, but there are similar ones. Instead of "Iran Regime Doing Well, In Control," there's this from The Wall Street Journal: "Iran’s Leadership Signals It Is Still in Control and Able to Fight." Instead of "Khomeini son just as tough as Father," there's this in The New York Times:
Iran’s New Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei’s Son, Is a Mysterious Figure
The succession of the slain leader’s son is seen as a signal of the Islamic republic’s defiance of Israel and the United States, and of continuity during crisis.
Ingraham slammed the media's tendency to tilt against the American side:
INGRAHAM: Posting on X, Democratic pollster Mark Penn put it very well, writing, The headlines abound. Regime doing well, in control. Trump under pressure to end war. Khamenei's son just as tough as dad. U.S. Responsible for missile on school. Where are the headlines 50 Iranian ships sunk or Iranian military assets destroyed or leadership tries to put on good showing despite internal chaos? Or Khamenei appointment creates hereditary theocracy. War plan progress unprecedented? Well, those stories should be told. Not because they are pro-Trump hype but because they're accurate. But, CNN seems hell bent on framing almost every development as a negative. When the current Iranian regime needs optimistic framing, it knows where to go. She then played a clip from CNN's Frederik Pleitgen reporting from Northern Iran to make her point.
PLEITGEN: For the Iranians, as long as they are there, as long as their leadership structure is still effective and still very much intact and stable, and as long as they have that leverage in the Persian Gulf area, they believe that they can hold out for an extended period of time. And when you go out on the streets in Tehran, one of the things that you do notice is that there are a lot of security forces on the ground and also internally projecting that they are still very much in charge and still have very much have that grip on power.
Sickening, and there was more to come.
INGRAHAM: And six days ago, CNN in Iran was essentially giving the world two thumbs up.
PLEITGEN: Taking a quick break for a coffee along the way we have been driving for several hours. There's a couple things that we have noticed. Number one is that first of all, all the shops are open. All the shops are really well-stocked even with fresh things like for instance fruits and vegetables. Coffee, obviously, also available as well. And then, also, the gas stations, there is no long lines at gas stations. Fuel seems readily available, and you just don't see any sort of degree of panic anywhere.
Laura: Well, I don't know, channeling his best Baghdad Bob?
She then turned her attention to the New York Times coverage.
INGRAHAM: What we're seeing from our media is just as disturbing as it is comical. Check out this analysis from the New York Times over the weekend: How Trump's war in Iran has echoes of Putin and Ukraine. This is disgusting and it's aggressively stupid. There is literally zero serious comparison there. America doesn't want to occupy Iran or take territory we deem to be historically ours, which is what Putin wants.... The Times should be ashamed of itself.
Ingraham then asked the burning question.
INGRAHAM: We can all see Iran currently being hammered on all sides. So, where are the stories about how Iran with its Mideast missile and drone strikes has essentially made enemies of almost every main player in the region.
....There is no sense that Iran will be able to be wait us out and reconstitute their nuclear program or their missile program any time soon. That is ludicrous. The biggest threats are eliminated or will be soon. But for the beltway media types, they would rather propagandize for the enemy or at least appear to, than report on President Trump's successes.
And Ingraham finished with this likely accurate analysis, "And they wonder why their audience and readership is evaporating."
