It is almost comical to observe how Norwegian media outlets such as Nettavisen cast all principles overboard as soon as they see an opportunity to attack Donald Trump.
In their latest coverage of the situation in Iran, the president is portrayed as a dangerous and mentally unstable individual, while they enlist witnesses to the truth from the most absurd corners of politics. What renders the case particularly embarrassing is the use of Marjorie Taylor Greene as a credible source against Trump.
Not long ago, Greene was the very symbol of everything that was wrong with the American right in the eyes of Norwegian journalists. She was ridiculed and dismissed as an extreme conspiracy theorist so long as she stood firmly with the MAGA movement. But the moment she turns her coat with the wind and labels Trump’s line as evil, she is suddenly elevated as a moral authority by the very same media that previously held her in contempt.
This is a form of journalistic opportunism that is so transparent that it collapses under its own implausibility.
While Nettavisen chooses to quote left-leaning senators such as Bernie Sanders and has-been influencers, they completely ignore the heavyweight voices that actually understand geopolitics and military strategy. Prominent figures such as Mike Pompeo and Senators Lindsey Graham and Tom Cotton lend their full support to Trump’s ultimatum to Iran. Graham has been explicit that the president’s decisiveness is the only path to ensuring that the Strait of Hormuz is reopened, and that the Iranian regime can no longer hold the world economy hostage.
Neither Nettavisen nor their selected sources appear to understand that Trump’s maximum pressure is a response to Iranian aggression that has escalated over a long period. By threatening to bomb infrastructure and power plants, Trump is sending a signal that Tehran actually understands, namely raw force. For many American military strategists, this constitutes a necessary reckoning after years of appeasement.
Cotton has pointed out that Operation Midnight Hammer is a shrewd plan to crush the Iranian military machine once and for all, so that future generations may live in security.
It is symptomatic of the Norwegian coverage that one prefers to listen to Iranian newspapers and enraged Democratic members of Congress rather than to analyse the realities on the ground. We observe the same tendency whereby Trump is portrayed as mad, while his opponents, whoever they may be, are hailed as the voices of reason. When Nettavisen now has to resort to Taylor Greene to substantiate its narrative, it has in reality abdicated as a serious purveyor of news.
Does it not appear as though Norwegian media have determined the outcome before they have even examined the matter?
Where are all the concerns regarding Iran’s reign of terror? The country has been responsible for financing some of the very worst terrorist organisations in the world, and even maintains its own population in an iron grip. Women have few, if any, rights, and public executions occur as frequently as Jonas Gahr Støre tells a blatant lie—that is to say, very frequently.
Norwegian media truly ought to be ashamed, yet they possess neither the courage nor the intelligence to do so. Instead, they champion the struggle against the good and stand up for the wicked.