NY Times Columnist Wants Iran Defeated, But Hates Trump Too Much to Want US to Win

Like the paper he works for, Thomas Friedman is a longstanding institution. People read the New York Times so they can repeat his slick glib nonsense at parties to people just as clueless, but slightly too busy to read his verbose ramblings in the paper for themselves.

But give Tom some credit, he was just a little too honest in this CNN interview.

Don’t want Iran to lose if it means Trump wins. @TomFriedman of @NYTimes really wants “to see Iran defeated militarily because this regime is a terrible regime for its people and the region,” but on CNN’s @Smerconish he fretted “the problem is I really don’t want to see Bibi… pic.twitter.com/rgPngGXkGc

— Brent Baker 🇺🇲🇺🇦 🇮🇱 (@BrentHBaker) April 11, 2026

“I really want to see Iran defeated militarily because this regime is a terrible regime for its people and the region. And nothing would improve the region more than the replacement of this regime with a regime that is focused on enabling its people to realize their full potential, and integrating peacefully with other countries, and stop occupying Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. So I’m all for that.”

On the other hand, Friedman is troubled because those whom he sees as the “wrong people” are leading the fight against Iran. “I really don’t want to see Bibi Netanyahu or Donald Trump politically strengthened by this war because they are two awful human beings.”

For that reason, he says, “I really find myself torn. I want to see Iran militarily defeated, but I do not want to see these two terrible people strengthened.”

This, mind you, is the ‘moderate’ liberal position on the war in Iran. The ‘extreme’ one is straightforwardly supporting Iran and wanting America to lose.

Here’s a sample.

Denaturalize. Deport. https://t.co/kIsBL9SfqW

— Daniel Greenfield – “Hang Together or Separately” (@Sultanknish) April 12, 2026