Sign up for the daily CJR newsletter . Last Monday, a day after Donald Trump threatened to commit war crimes by blowing up Iranian power plants and bridges—“Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell—JUST WATCH!” he wrote on Truth Social—America’s most prominent newspapers led with the United States military’s efforts to find a downed airman. In detailed narratives, the press described a “dangerous” ( New York Times ), “dramatic” ( Washington Post ), “daring” ( New York Post ), “sprawling, high-risk rescue mission” ( Wall Street Journal ), which saw the safe retrieval of a weapons system operator shot down in an F-15E the previous Friday. Similar accounts ran in Politico , Axios , Reuters, CBS News, and other outlets, indicating heavy media-briefing by the administration. This was a tale that had it all: An injured US colonel hiding behind enemy lines. A race against time to prevent an Iranian propaganda coup. CIA deception efforts.…