President Donald Trump fielded a barrage of questions late Wednesday night after returning from a campaign-style swing through the Midwest—using the moment to sound the alarm on possible Iranian sleeper cells inside the United States while sharply blaming the immigration policies of former President Joe Biden.
The exchange unfolded on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews, where Trump stopped to take questions from reporters after delivering a speech in Columbus and holding a rally earlier in Louisville.
Fox News’ Peter Doocy, the network’s senior White House correspondent, jumped in immediately with questions about intelligence warnings circulating among law enforcement.
Doocy asked the president about reports suggesting a possible Iranian revenge plot that could involve drone attacks along the West Coast.
“President Trump, what have you heard about this bulletin that some law enforcement has out about a possible Iran revenge plot in California, where there would be some kind of boat off shore launching drones towards the coast?” Doocy asked.
Trump responded cautiously but made clear that authorities are examining the reports.
“It’s being investigated, but you have a lot of things happening and all we can do is take them as they come,” the president said.
Trump quickly pivoted to praise the broader military effort underway against Iran, insisting that the campaign is being carried out with unprecedented effectiveness.
“The war itself is being prosecuted as well as anybody has ever seen and this is other countries telling me too. Big countries, powerful countries, they said they’ve never seen anything like it.”
He added that many allied nations share Washington’s view of the Iranian regime.
“And they also agree with what I’m doing. They say it’s an evil country and it’s been for 47 years that way.”
Doocy followed up with a more pointed national security question: how many Iranian sleeper cells might already be operating inside the United States. “And if they try to hit us back, have you been briefed about how many Iran’s sleeper cells there could be inside the US right now?” the reporter asked. Trump confirmed he has been briefed—and quickly tied the issue to the previous administration’s immigration policies.
“I have been. And a lot of people came in through Biden with his stupid open border.” The president added that intelligence agencies are monitoring suspected operatives already inside the country. “But we know where most of them are. We’ve got our eye on all of them, I think.”
When Doocy pressed further, asking whether the number of suspected cells could be in the dozens, Trump again pivoted back to criticism of Biden.
“They came in through the open border policies of Sleepy Joe Biden, one of the worst, the worst president in the history of our country. And we’ve got eyes on all them.”
Despite the concern over potential sleeper cells, Trump emphasized confidence in the ongoing military campaign and intelligence operations. “But the war itself is being prosecuted at a level that nobody’s seen before. It’s pretty amazing to watch.”
