The New York Times has once again been caught red-handed editing commentary from President Donald Trump that makes his commentary seem less unhinged than it truly is.
On Easter Sunday, Trump sent out a Truth Social post reading, “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP”
But in its initial report on Trump’s post, the comments had been edited by the Times.
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The New York Times deleted Trump’s “open the fuckin’ strait” line to make him look less insane
Their write-up falsely says his post says only “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!” and “Praise be to Allah”
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— Matt Negrin still host of Hardball on MSNBC (@mattnegrin.bsky.social) April 5, 2026 at 10:03 AM
The Times told its millions of readers about Trump’s comment that it would be “power plant day and bridge day” but removed his statement about him wanting Iran to “open the Fuckin’ Strait.” The report gave the impression that Trump’s unhinged post was far more level-headed and sane than it truly was.
After online commentary noting the striking omission, the expletive was added in later revisions to the story. But no editor’s note or correction was added, leaving the false impression that the entirety of Trump’s remarks had always been in the story.
The process of “sanewashing” Trump’s remarks has been practiced for years by the mainstream media. This is the practice of reporting on what Trump said, but removing the consistently strange, sexist, racist, homophobic, misogynistic, and otherwise offensive context to his remarks. This isn’t merely the process of editing out verbal tics, but instead leaving an impression of Trump that is far different from the person he truly is.
Sanewashing Trump becomes a public relations boost for him, giving him a political assist while he pursues an unpopular agenda both on foreign and domestic policy. The Times is one of the most prominent practitioners of this practice.
“Two sides of the aisle” by Mike Luckovich
For instance, in January when Trump appeared at the World Economics Forum in Davos, Switzerland, he confused Greenland with Iceland during commentary on possible U.S. military action against the sovereign territory. He also made the cringeworthy statement that “they call me Daddy” in Greenland. The Times purged the “daddy” comment from its report on Trump and simply noted that he had purportedly ruled out the use of force.
Then in its report on Trump’s State of the Union speech in February, the Times said Trump simply “put on a show” using the “slashing style of a natural campaigner.” This description was used for a speech in which Trump engaged in racist commentary about Somali immigrants living in Minnesota and defended the ICE campaign of terror which has killed innocent Americans and terrorized immigrants.
The Trump administration is using its power to attack free and independent speech, both from individuals and from journalists. At the same time, news outlets like CBS News are owned by Trump allies and acolytes like billionaire David Ellison—while those same outlets censor news stories that undermine pro-Trump narratives.
When outlets like the Times add their policy of sanewashing Trump and company to the mix, it deprives the public of the truth and purges context from the historical record.
