PBS News Hour anchor William Brangham and MS NOW host Jonathan Capehart tried on Friday to cast doubt on President Trump’s proclamations of military success. However, to do that, they had to employ a definition of success that would be impossible for any war to achieve.
Making matters worse, The Atlantic’s David Brooks just finished hyping the possibility that Iran will no longer be a regional power, but Brangham was still keen to try to score points against Trump, “But in the interim, Jonathan, we're still in this position where Iran, although the president says their military has been utterly destroyed, they are showing, in that zero percent that they allegedly have left, remarkable tenacity to punish other Gulf states, to destroy critical oil and gas infrastructure. I mean, analysts have been arguing that what's been done in Qatar recently has be—could be years undoing. The Iranians don't seem to be ready to give up this fight yet.”
PBS's William Brangham tires to cast doubt on Trump's claim of military success, "although the president says their military has been utterly destroyed, they are showing, in that zero percent that they allegedly have left, remarkable tenacity to punish other Gulf states, to… pic.twitter.com/0Qs0oc9XDj
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) March 21, 2026
Brangham was alluding to Trump’s comments where he said that Iran’s military capabilities had been 100 percent destroyed, but this far into Trump’s political career, it should be well known that he is one to speak figuratively. In fact, in that Truth Social post, Trump conceded, “We have already destroyed 100% of Iran’s Military capability, but it’s easy for them to send a drone or two, drop a mine, or deliver a close range missile somewhere along, or in, this Waterway, no matter how badly defeated they are.”
Nevertheless, Capehart was eager to insist that Trump must have meant that every last bit of Iranian military equipment had been destroyed, “Right. And that's why there seems to be this dissonance and disconnect, certainly for me here in Washington, but I'm sure for the American people who are just loosely watching. The president says one thing, such as, ‘The straits are open, everything is great,’ and then the split screen tankers on fire.”
He then added, “The words that are coming out of the president's mouth and out of his administration don't seem to match the facts on the ground, which is why I think it would be really important for the president to come to the American people and explain what's happened. The problem that he has, and the problem, admittedly, I would have watching such an Oval Office address is, I would not know how much of what he says I can trust.”
That’s more of an indictment of Capehart and his media colleagues. The American-Israeli effort against Iran has been one of the most successful military operations in history, but because no war ever goes 100 percent perfectly, the media has spent a disproportionate amount of time hyping the fact that Iran’s ability to shoot back has not been reduced to absolutely zero in an effort to score political points. All wars involve assuming some level of risk, but taking that risk does not mean the operation has failed.
Here is a transcript for the March 20 show:
PBS News Hour
3/20/2026
7:44 PM ET
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: But in the interim, Jonathan, we're still in this position where Iran, although the president says their military has been utterly destroyed, they are showing, in that zero percent that they allegedly have left, remarkable tenacity to punish other Gulf states, to destroy critical oil and gas infrastructure.
I mean, analysts have been arguing that what's been done in Qatar recently has be—could be years undoing. The Iranians don't seem to be ready to give up this fight yet.
JONATHAN CAPEHART: Right. And that's why there seems to be this dissonance and disconnect, certainly for me here in Washington, but I'm sure for the American people who are just loosely watching. The president says one thing, such as, “The straits are open, everything is great,” and then the split screen tankers on fire.
The words that are coming out of the president's mouth and out of his administration don't seem to match the facts on the ground, which is why I think it would be really important for the president to come to the American people and explain what's happened.
The problem that he has, and the problem, admittedly, I would have watching such an Oval Office address is, I would not know how much of what he says I can trust.
