memeorandum: Exclusive: Trump says U.S. feared Iran trap during F-15 crew rescue (Axios)

5:50 PM ET, April 5, 2026

Top Items:

Barak Ravid / Axios:

Trump to Axios: Iran deal possible by Tues., otherwise “I am blowing up everything” — President Trump claimed in an interview with Axios that the U.S. is “in deep negotiations” with Iran and that a deal can be reached before his deadline expires on Tuesday.

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo, Raw Story, The Hill and Mediaite

Laura Esposito / The Daily Beast:

Trump Skips Easter Church to Take Self-Worship Tour of D.C. — SACRED SKIP — Rather than attend Easter services, the president spent the day roaming D.C. and visiting his golf course. — Donald Trump, a Christian, opted to skip Easter service and instead went on a bizarre tour of Washington, D.C.

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Examiner, Daily Mail, Salon, Raw Story, Washington Times and The Gateway Pundit

Edward Wong / New York Times:

Trump Revels in Threats to Commit War Crimes in Iran — The president said he would bomb Iran “back to the Stone Ages.” Until this administration, American leaders had insisted they were trying to follow international law in war. — Power plants, desalination stations, oil wells, roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal

Paul Krugman:

Living in Hell — War crimes coming: A horrifying update — America as we knew it may end Tuesday. — Hi, I'm Paul Krugman. Sunday morning update. Yesterday, I talked about how awful Trump's message about glory to God and all of that was, but it's looking much, much worse today.

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Mahablog and Digby's Hullabaloo

Laura Esposito / The Daily Beast:

Trump, 79, Drops F-Bomb in Unhinged Easter Morning Threat — HE HAS RISEN — The president started off the holiest Sunday with profanity. — Donald Trump began the holiest day on the Christian calendar with a profanity-filled Truth Social tirade in which he praised Allah.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Rolling Stone, New York Post, TMZ.com, RedState, Palm Beach Post, The Hill, Raw Story, The Independent, Showbiz411, Zeteo and LGBTQ Nation

Meridith McGraw / Wall Street Journal:

Trump Warns Iran He Could Strike ‘Every Power Plant,’ in WSJ Interview — 'If they don't do something by Tuesday evening, they won't have any power plants and they won't have any bridges standing' — WASHINGTON—President Trump threatened to destroy all of Iran's power plants …

Discussion: Bloomberg, The Daily Caller, NOTUS, The Independent, Washington Times, NewsMax.com, HuffPost, Reuters and Raw Story

Axios:

Exclusive: Trump says U.S. feared Iran trap during F-15 crew rescue — President Trump told Axios the U.S. initially worried that a message from the stranded crew member of an F-15 downed by Iran was a trick by the Iranians to lure U.S. forces into a trap.

Discussion: The Post Millennial, The Gateway Pundit, NewsMax.com, Reuters and France 24

Reuters:
Iran War Live Updates: Trump Escalates Threat to Hit Iranian Power Plants After U.S. Rescues Downed Airman

Discussion: New York Times, Axios, Advocate, Mediaite, Al Jazeera, The Times of Israel, France 24 and CBS News

David E. Sanger / New York Times:
In New Threats, Trump Seems Emboldened by a Successful Rescue

Discussion: Agence France-Presse

Jacob Wendler / Politico:
Trump again threatens to hit Iranian civil infrastructure

Discussion: The Hill, The Guardian, Breitbart, Associated Press, The Gateway Pundit, Politico, Just Jared, Bloomberg and Washington Examiner

Daniel W. Drezner / Drezner's World: The Strategic Defeat of the United States

Irie Sentner / Politico:

‘Proactively fall in line:’ Holocaust Memorial Museum quietly changed content after Trump returned to office … “It seems like they were trying to proactively fall in line as to not then be forced to change,” one of the people said. — The museum pulled from its website a page called …

NBC News:

Second airman in F-15E that was shot down over Iran rescued safely, U.S. officials say — The search was on for the backseater since Friday's incident, when the pilot was rescued shortly after the strike. — ADD NBC NEWS TO GOOGLE — U.S. forces safely rescued the second F-15E crew member …

Discussion: Reuters, Axios, New York Times, The US Sun, Washington Examiner, Al Jazeera, Associated Press, New York Sun, Fox News, New York Post and Aviation A2Z

Washington Post:
U.S. rescues missing crew member in Iran after fighter jet shot down

Discussion: Associated Press, Stars & Stripes, The Guardian, CBS News, The Hill, Mother Jones, The Times of Israel, Al Jazeera, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit and MS NOW

Associated Press:
US aviator missing after Iran shot down fighter jet has been rescued

Discussion: Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, Washington Times, New York Post, NPR, The American Conservative, Los Angeles Times, Salon, MPR News, WUSA, The US Sun, The Independent, The Daily Caller and Politico

New York Times:
U.S. Commandos Rescue Downed Air Force Officer Deep Inside Iran

Anthony Faiola / Washington Post:

On Easter, Pope Leo delivers commanding message of peace to a world at war — “Let those who have weapons lay them down!” the first American pope declared. The White House's war in Iran and nativist agenda at home are testing the Vatican. — ROME — Pope Leo XIV used his first Easter speech Sunday …

Discussion: Axios, New York Times, RNS, CNN, Reuters, France 24, Letters from Leo, MS NOW and Middle East Monitor

Washington Post:
Trump threatens Iran with ‘Hell’ over Strait of Hormuz in profane post

G. Elliott Morris / Strength In Numbers:

Why Democrats are suddenly winning back the left — and the “double-haters” — This is my weekly Sunday roundup of new political data published over the last seven days. It is free to read, but if you want to support independent data-driven political journalism, become a paying subscriber.

Discussion: Breitbart

Kelly Garino / Daily Mail:

Fury as SNL comedian makes foul joke about Trump ‘being assassinated’: 'President in a theater...what's the worst that could happen?' — Saturday Night Live is under fire after a cast member cracked 'what's the worst that can happen?' about Trump attending a play - an unmistakable nod to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

Discussion: The Post Millennial, Mediaite, Daily Caller News Foundation, Hollywood in Toto and Just Jared

Richard Stengel / The Guardian:

I was the US soft power czar. Our reputation may never recover from this — Trump's venal persona and his war on Iran will do untold damage to America's ability to make a positive difference in the world — Early one Sunday morning in the summer of 2003, I drove into the center …

Discussion: Raw Story

Ryan King / New York Post:

Late-night shooting near the White House puts Secret Service on heightened alert — The Secret Service is on heightened alert after a shooting early Sunday near the park across from the White House, where President Trump is for the weekend. — No injuries were reported in the shooting …

Associated Press:
Secret Service investigates reports of gunfire near Lafayette Park across from the White House

Discussion: CBS News, The Daily Caller, WFAA-TV and Washington Times

Brentin Mock / Democracy Docket:

Reports: DOJ Civil Rights chief Harmeet Dhillon to be promoted amid department shakeup — U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division chief Harmeet Dhillon may be promoted to Associate Attorney General, according to a report from the conservative Daily Wire news outlet.

Discussion: The Daily Wire, The Gateway Pundit, The Post Millennial, Raw Story and CBS News

Mohamad El Chamaa / Washington Post:

American universities in Middle East brace for Iranian retaliation — After the U.S.-Israeli campaign struck Iranian universities, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps called American schools in the Middle East “legitimate targets.” — BEIRUT — The American University of Beirut restricted access to all but essential personnel.

Discussion: NewsMax.com