Donald Trump's own words came back to haunt him when Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy cited a six-year-old remark about Iran while questioning the President on the newly signed US-Iran peace deal.
"A very wise man once said, in January 2020, 'Iran never won a war, but never lost a negotiation,'" Doocy said before asking Trump how he would convince Americans that the deal was a victory for the United States.
"Who said that?" Trump asked.
"Donald Trump," Doocy replied.
"That's what I thought you were going to say," Trump joked, drawing laughter from those present.
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Iran never won a war, but never lost a negotiation!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2020
The exchange quickly gained attention online, with several social media users sharing clips of the moment.
Doocy then pressed Trump on how he planned to sell the agreement to a sceptical American public given his earlier assessment of Iran's negotiating prowess.
In response, Trump argued that Iran had been defeated militarily and insisted that critics and sections of the media would portray any agreement as a loss for the United States regardless of its terms.
Embarrassing.
— daniel hanuka???? ???????? (@LionsOfZion_ORG) June 17, 2026
Peter Doocy: “A wise man once said, in January 2020: ‘Iran has never won a war, but has never lost a negotiation.'”
President Trump: “Who said that?”
Reporter: “Donald Trump.” pic.twitter.com/5dHba4bwN7
"They were defeated militarily," Trump said before launching into a broader criticism of media coverage. He claimed that even if Iran were to fully concede and praise his leadership, outlets such as CNN and The New York Times would still portray the outcome as a victory for Tehran.
"If they (i.e., Iran) raised the white flag of surrender, and if they said, 'Praise be to Allah, Donald Trump is the greatest president ever, we totally concede, we totally give up, this war is over, we have failed', The New York Times and CNN and a couple of others - they're not all (i.e., the other American news publications) that dishonest - they'd say 'Iran had a great victory', okay?"
Trump went on to accuse major media organisations of biased coverage, saying they routinely cast positive developments involving him in a negative light.
"We need a fair press," Trump said, arguing that public trust in mainstream media had declined despite its criticism of his administration.
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Trump then shifted his focus from talking about Iran to criticising the media, stating, "We need a fair press. They all lost credibility, which is why they are all performing so poorly. They take positive tales about me and turn them into negative ones when I win by a wide margin and receive 93% negative publicity. The public voted for me despite the media's lack of credibility."
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