President Trump claimed Monday that the Iranian people want the U.S. to continue bombing their country, saying they are "willing to suffer" in order to be rid of the Iranian regime.   "They would be willing to suffer that in order to have freedom," he told reporters when asked about his threat to bomb power facilities and bridges if Tehran does not open the Strait of Hormuz.   "Please keep bombing," he said, citing intercepted communications. "And these are people that are living where the bombs are exploding."   The president also brushed aside a question about whether such strikes on civilian infrastructure could amount to war crimes.   "We're never going to let Iran have a nuclear weapon," he said, as he criticized the New York Times reporter who asked the question.   #trump #iran #politics #war #cspan

You've said Iranians would be mad if you stopped these attacks, but why would they want you to blow up their infrastructure to cut off their power? Wouldn't that be punishing Iranians for the actions of the regime? They would be willing just -- they would be willing, and it's suffering. They would be willing to suffer that in order to have freedom. The Iranians have -- and we've had numerous intercepts. Please keep bombing. Bombs that are dropping near their homes. Please keep bombing. Do it. And these are people that are living where the bombs are exploding, and when we leave and we're not hitting those areas, they're saying, "Please come back, come back, come back." These are the people. I don't know what they do. All I can tell you is they want freedom. They have lived in a world that you know nothing about. It's a violent, horrible world. Where -- if you protest, you are shot. Deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure, by-way, the jibeneva, the kind of conventions and interiors. Who are you with? Who are you with? I'm with the New York Times. It's all in from New York Times. Are you failing? Are you concerned? Are you -- are you concerned? Are you concerned that your threat to bomb power plants and bridges amount to -- No, not at all. No, no, no. I hope I don't have to do it. But again, I just said, 47 years they've been negotiating with these people. They're great negotiators. And -- because they're not going to have a nuclear weapon. And if somebody that takes my place someday is weak and ineffective, which possibly that will happen, because we had numerous presents that were weak, ineffective, and afraid of Iran, we're never going to let Iran have a nuclear weapon. And if you think it's okay for people that are sick of mind, that are tough, smart, and sick, really sick, ideal -- from a policy standpoint, from a stamp -- any way you want to say, mentally, these are disturbed people. If you think I'm going to allow them -- and powerful and rich -- to have a nuclear weapon, you can tell your friends at the New York Times not going to happen. You no longer have credibility at the New York Times, because the New York Times said, oh, Trump won't win the election, and I won in a landslide. I won every swing state. New York Times said, oh, Trump won't win the election. New York Times says no credibility. The credibility they have is it used to be all the news that's fit to print. A great -- the old gray lady, it was great. But they're running on past fumes, and you can't keep doing that. You have to be able to give the correct news. And people like you who I know are fake, you're fake.