Reporter Goes Viral For Bluntly Calling Trump Out To His Face For Suggesting Iran Bombed Girls School

New York Times reporter Shawn McCreesh has gone viral after bluntly calling out President Donald Trump for suggesting that Iran somehow got a hold of Tomahawk missiles to bomb a girls' school in its own country on the first day of the war.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was criticized last week after she rejected reports that the U.S. struck a girls' elementary school in Iran, killing 175 people, insisting in remarks to the press pool that it's just Iranian "propaganda" that they've "fallen" for.

Iranian state media and health officials said the strike occurred early on February 28 in Minab, in the country’s southern Hormozgan Province. Journalists from international news organizations have not been granted access to independently verify the reported death toll or the circumstances surrounding the strike.

Neither the U.S. nor Israel has claimed responsibility for the attack. Video footage circulating online appears to show black smoke rising from a damaged building decorated with murals of crayons, children and an apple.

CBS News said it was able to geolocate the video to a building in Minab that Iranian state media identified as Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School. Iran’s school week runs from Saturday to Thursday, and students were reportedly in the middle of their morning session when the strike occurred.

Trump, without citing evidence, claimed the strike was "done by Iran":

"In my opinion, based on what I've seen, that was done by Iran…We think it was done by Iran, because they're very inaccurate with their munitions, they have no accuracy whatsoever, it was done by Iran."

Trump is the only person in the government who has claimed this; even Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hasn't said this, telling a reporter that the Pentagon was "investigating," adding that "the only side that targets civilians is Iran."

Then Trump was questioned about his claim during a press briefing attended by McCreesh, who asked:

"You just suggested that Iran somehow got its hands on a Tomahawk and bombed its own elementary school on the first day of the war. But you're the only person in your government saying this—even your Defense Secretary didn't say that when he was asked, standing over your shoulder, on your plane."

"Why are you the only person saying this?"

Trump replied:

"Because I just don't know enough about it. I think it's something I was told is under investigation but Tomahawks are used by others, as you know. Numerous other nations have Tomahawks. They buy them from us."

"But I certainly, whatever the report shows, I'm willing to live with that report."

Notably, Iran does not have Tomahawk missiles. The weapon is U.S.-made and exported only to a handful of close allies under strict controls.

You can watch their exchange in the video below.

Many have praised McCreesh's line of questioning while criticizing Trump's remarks, particularly his admission that he doesn't "know enough" about the strike—but felt fit to remark on it anyway.

Tomahawk cruise missiles are long-range, subsonic missiles launched from U.S. Navy warships and submarines. Produced by Raytheon, the weapon was first used in combat by U.S. forces during Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and has a range of roughly 1,000 miles.

The missiles were used in U.S. strikes on Iran, including attacks on three major nuclear sites last June, and the U.S. military has confirmed they were also deployed after the war began. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, later confirmed in briefings that U.S. forces fired Tomahawk missiles during the initial wave of strikes against Iran.