'President this rattled': Trump reportedly 'spooked by a bombshell leak'
Donald Trump is "rattled," according to a new report.
The president is shaken by a major leak of his administration's internal reporting, which showed it was possible his strikes on Iran nuclear facilities weren't as damaging as he had suggested, Politico reports.
"Here’s the thing: It’s rare to see the president this rattled by a negative story about his administration. Obviously Trump goes after the media all the time, but it mostly feels performative these days — and maybe it always did. This is different," the report states. "The president posted 21 times on Truth Social yesterday about the supposed success of his military strikes. And at yesterday’s NATO summit — a moment specifically designed by the Western world for Trump to bask in the glory of a huge defense spending boost — he spent most of his public appearances repeating his assertions on Iran."
Continuing, the report asks, "What’s going on?"
"Critics see a president spooked by a bombshell leak that has undermined his authority," the outlet reported. "Supporters say Trump is genuinely outraged by what he claims is false reporting and wants the record corrected. Either way — he’s using every tool in his arsenal to push back hard: Witness the hammer-like repetition that sites were 'obliterated'; the plentiful use of surrogates like Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio; the vindictive targeting of the journalists and media organizations involved; the barrage of statements from both U.S. and Israeli intelligence chiefs yesterday that the initial report was wrong."
The report goes on to say Trump is "playing the patriotism card."
"Today things will get even more heated when we’re told that to even question whether Iran’s mountainous defenses might have held up a little better than expected is an outrageous slur on America’s armed forces," the report states.