US President Donald Trump published a string of unhinged posts to his social media platform overnight and into Monday morning, including an artificial intelligence-generated video attempting to depict American forces bombing Kharg…
Page A10From§Eachthe noon edition — 31 August 2026
Treasury chief vows Iran will 'come to their senses'; President responds with AI-generated bombing footage.
As it ran on the front
Let's be clear about what happened at the G20, because the coverage has gotten this backwards. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent arrived smiling, on message, and delivered exactly the kind of resolve investors want to see: Iran, in his words, needs to 'come to their senses.' That is not saber-rattling. That is diplomacy conducted in the language markets actually understand, which is confidence. Confidence is a real economic input, and Secretary Bessent brought plenty of it to that podium, and frankly the — frankly the markets responded to strength, they always have, they always — well, actually the markets responded to uncertainty, that's what the underlying reporting on the G20 meeting says, uncertainty, not strength. I don't know why I said strength.
Now, on the President's post. I understand there's been some noise about the AI-generated footage of the Iran strike. And look, is it unconventional for a head of state to circulate synthetic video of a military action? Sure. But unconventional isn't the same as — it's a communications strategy, it's meeting the public where they are, on platforms, in formats they already — it is a fake video of a real war, that's what it is, I'm not going to stand here and call it a communications strategy. It's a fake video of a real war.…
…(cont) Here's what I'd ask the critics to consider, though: context. You've got a Treasury Secretary trying to hold together a G20 finance meeting while an actual regional war is grinding through the global economy, and you've got a President who apparently believes the appropriate response to that is a bombing video generated by a computer program. These are not the same register. One of these men is doing his job. I will let you decide which.
What I will say, in defense of the administration broadly, is that at least somebody at that table sounded serious. Whether the seriousness survives contact with the President's phone is, I'll grant, a separate question — a question I am not equipped to answer, and one I would encourage you to put to the communications office, which is not me, not today.
“One guy at the G20 is talking like a grown-up about sanctions and 'senses.' The other guy, who actually has the codes, is on his phone making cartoons of bombs. Ask yourself which one is actually running foreign policy.”
“The President is simply demonstrating resolve through modern media, it's a — it's a show of strength, a deterrent, very on-brand — okay it's an AI video of a bombing, that's not deterrence, that's a Tuesday. I don't know why I said deterrence.”
The receipts
A smiling Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was seen arriving at a Group of 20 reception Sunday as he navigates the "Operation Economic Outcast" campaign against Iran and a bond market revolt.
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front.