Q&A: The most unpopular US conflict ever & why is Trump so hostile to journalists?
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Why do journalists find it so hard to confront President Trump directly?
This is a global production.
This character that now has had two terms as president of the most powerful country in the world, and as we can see, everything that he does, everything that any American president does, is massively consequential. There honestly is no good way to ask Trump a question. I'm actually more interested to know, how did he get like this?
I've been following American foreign policy my entire life. I can't think of a military conflict that is this unpopular.
Hi, everyone. It is Jamie and Christiane of The X-Files with the Q&A episode. It's where we answer your questions, so let us get started straight away. Jamie, I'm going to ask the first question because I've got it right in front of me. This is from Carol on email. Why do so many journalists still seem reluctant to challenge Trump directly despite his falling approval ratings? If you had one chance to question without fear of consequences, what would you ask? Well, I guess it's directed at me, but it should be directed at you as well, given that you're a former... press advisor, media spokesman, et cetera, to the government. I think more and more journalists are asking challenging questions. I do think that you've seen over the first four years of his first administration, the nearly two years of the second administration, there honestly is no good way to ask Trump a question because
We now know that he has his own way. I remember interviewing people like the former Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Remember, he's the one that Israel thought would be a great new leader of independent, non-Islamic, I don't know what, Iran. Anyway, every time I would ask him a hard question, he would respond by asking a question. And sometimes he'd even be a little bit, you know, rude and direct and somewhat personally pointed. Well, Trump has taken that to a high art. If he doesn't like the question, he'll either get up or he'll call you names and worse, and then just call you fake news. I think if it was me, I would... I kind of don't see any point in going after the usual confrontational tactic.
I'm actually more interested to know, how did he get like this? I want to know, you know, his... What did he learn from? What were his leading mentors telling him about how to behave when asked questions by the press or coming across a decision or whatever that he didn't like, etc.?
What does Christiane think would be the most revealing question to ask Trump about his personality?
I'd want to go back to the beginning of how this character was formed, this character that now has had two terms as president of the most powerful country in the world. And as we can see, everything that he does, everything that any American president does, is massively consequential. And in this case, and we've been talking about it for months, we've got a six-month war with Iran that this administration and this president doesn't seem to know how to get out of, even though he almost with no planning got into. And, and, and, and, you know, the tariffs and the executive orders and the busting the limits of executive power and the crackdown on the free press. And why, where, how? That's what I would ask.
Yeah. I don't think I could possibly formulate one question, which is probably why I never could really be a proper journalist. But I do think the questioner is not correct in saying that journalists are reluctant to challenge Trump. I don't think that's true. I think the White House press corps has figured out who is going to play that role. And there's various individuals who take the heat. But the journalists who run the major independent news organizations are challenging the president. And every day, the reason why we know so much about what's gone right, what's gone wrong, and what's still to be decided is because of the incredible journalism that we see in the Wall Street Journal, in the New York Times, in the other major news organizations' work.
And that's because they are challenging the president. And so I think the world is learning as much as it could possibly learn, given the fact that journalists are also under threat from a Justice Department that has shown incredible willingness to subpoena journalists for things that they would never have done before.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why do journalists find it so hard to confront President Trump directly?
0:02–2:31
2
What does Christiane think would be the most revealing question to ask Trump about his personality?
2:31–5:19
3
Why is the six‑month war with Iran described as the most unpopular U.S. conflict?
5:19–8:06
4
Could growing public opposition to the Iran war trigger a mid‑term political reckoning in the United States?
8:06–10:59
5
Is Hamas’s willingness to disarm a genuine step toward a Gaza peace deal or just a false dawn?
10:59–13:23
6
Can Tony Blair’s Northern‑Ireland de‑commissioning playbook work for Gaza and lead to a Palestinian state?
13:23–15:56
7
Should the United States scrap the Electoral College in favor of a popular‑vote system?
15:56–19:04
8
How realistic is it for international law to hold powerful nations accountable in today’s security‑council veto system?
19:04–21:09
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from Christiane Amanpour Presents: The Ex Files
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