Analysis by WorldTribune Staff, April 20, 2026 Non-AI Real World News
In a Saturday article titled "Behind Trump’s Public Bravado on the War, He Grapples With His Own Fears", the Wall Street Journal characterizes President Donald Trump as the "chest-thumping president" who amid the Iran war "sometimes loses focus, spending time on the details of his plans for the White House ballroom or on midterm fundraisers."
Who did the Journal's writers get their information from?
[caption id="attachment_154996" align="alignleft" width="450"]
President Donald Trump has filed multiple defamation lawsuits against media outlets, and now FBI Director Kash Patel has filed one against The Atlantic. / Video Image[/caption]
Three lines from the article sum it up:
"...people who have spoken to him said."
"...a senior administration official said."
"...according to people familiar with the matter."
Unnamed sources. That is major media journalism in a nutshell in the second Trump Administration. Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) has reached epidemic proportions in America's newsrooms.
According to the article, Trump "has made risky pronouncements without input from his national security team—including his post about plans to destroy the Iranian civilization."
The source for that huge hit on the president, again was "people familiar with the matter."
Other legacy media outlets continue to peddle the "news" that Trump only became engaged in the Iran conflict because Israel somehow talked him into it.
Trump wrote in a post to Truth Social:
Israel never talked me into the war with Iran, the results of Oct. 7th, added to my lifelong opinion that IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON, did. I watch and read the FAKE NEWS Pundits and Polls in total disbelief. 90% of what they say are lies and made up stories, and the polls are rigged, much as the 2020 Presidential Election was rigged. Just like the results in Venezuela, which the media doesn’t like talking about, the results in Iran will be amazing - And if Iran’s new leaders (Regime Change!) are smart, Iran can have a great and prosperous future! President DJT
TDS fever extends to pretty much anyone in the Trump Administration, as RedState's Jennifer Oliver O'Connell noted in a Sunday analysis:
"We watched on Thursday as the entertainment zine 'Variety,' and CNN international anchor Christiane Amanpour, crashed and burned in their attempts to own Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. However, legacy media is committed to its mission to take out the Trump Administration cabinet, especially the ones they really cannot stand: like Hegseth and FBI Director Kash Patel. The end result of these quixotic campaigns is the media beclowning themselves, as 'The Atlantic' has now done."
On Friday, The Atlantic posted an article titled, "The FBI Director Is MIA: Kash Patel has alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences".
The sourcing?
That would be "people familiar with the matter."
The Atlantic article by Sarah Fitzpatrick claimed that Patel allegedly drank in excess and that his colleagues were concerned. At one point, Fitzpatrick wrote that “multiple current officials” and “former officials who have stayed close to him” were concerned about the alleged drinking, and she claimed that President Donald Trump is seeking to replace him following the ouster of former Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Patel on Monday filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic and Fitzpatrick, alleging that the claims in an article were false.
In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Patel stated the magazine and Fitzpatrick “published the Article with actual malice, despite being expressly warned, hours before publication, that the central allegations were categorically false,” “despite having abundant publicly available information contradicting those allegations,” and “despite obvious and fatal defects in their own sourcing.”
“Defendants cannot evade responsibility for their malicious lies by hiding behind sham sources,” Patel's lawyers said.
The Epoch Times noted that, in a post on X, Fitzpatrick defended her reporting and said she spoke with two dozen people who are “familiar with Patel’s conduct” before publishing the story.
She also said that in response to “19 detailed questions,” Patel allegedly responded: “Print it, all false. I’ll see you in court - bring your checkbook.”
Trump has filed multiple defamation lawsuits against media outlets, including against CNN, The New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. Judges have dismissed those lawsuits, although the president has re-filed his complaint against The New York Times.
The president has obtained settlements with others. ABC News agreed to settle a case for $15 million plus $1 million in legal fees in one claim, and Paramount Global agreed to pay $16 million for what the Trump Administration called “deceptive editing” of a CBS News interview with his then-2024 opponent, Kamala Harris.
2026 Contract With Our Readers
