How liberal psych ward MS NOW can seriously bet against the U.S. economy in a war with an already decapitated and floundering Iranian regime is a whole new level of brain hurt.
MS NOW reporters Julia Jester — talk about an ironic last name — and David Rohde couldn’t help making themselves look utterly foolish with their April 24 headline, “Trump vowed to break Iran. His own economy may break first.” As Jester and Rohde teased, “A race is on to see whose economy breaks first in the war with Iran.”
Really, is that why CNBC just reported Thursday that the Iranian economy is currently in “freefall” with inflation projected to hit 68.9 percent on the year? As for the U.S. economy, economist Stephen Slifer praised its “resilience.” This is like watching the 100-meter dash then wondering who’s going to win after Usain Bolt already blazed across the finish line and left his opponents in the dust.
The S&P 500 stock index also notched a new record April 24, adding $7.6 trillion in market cap and reflecting a 13.3 percent increase from its low on March 30, according to The Kobeissi Letter. The Nasdaq Composite also hit a fresh all-time high. But if you were reading Jester and Rohde’s anti-Trump drivel, readers would be misled to think that Iran still held all the cards:
Who blinks first in the standoff could determine whether the eight-week war ends soon or escalates into something worse. It is a new stage of a conflict that points to prolonged pain for Iranians, Americans and a global economy that is being starved of critical energy supplies.
Oppenheimer Asset Management Chief Strategist John Stoltzfus joined CNBC the day Jester and Rohde’s propaganda was published to emphasize the “resilience of the U.S. economy” and how corporate earnings were significantly buoying U.S. markets despite the ongoing Middle East conflict. But in Jester and Rohde’s world, “Iran has the clear advantage when it comes to enduring economic pain, most experts on the global oil trade and Iran’s economy told MS NOW.” Alexa, define “clear advantage.”
Foundation for Defense of Democracies Senior Fellow Miad Maleki recently explained to Fox News Digital that Iran may dry up its “oil storage in as little as two to three weeks, forcing production cuts, while gasoline shortages could hit on a similar timeline due to heavy reliance on imports.” Specifically, Fox News reported, “Combined with an estimated $435 million in daily economic losses, the pressure could spill into the financial system, leaving the regime struggling to pay salaries and raising the risk of renewed unrest.” What kind of “clear advantage” is that, Jester and Rohde?
Rohde has already made a name for himself by foolishly propping up the Iranian war effort as being on par with U.S. military strategy. On April 2, Rohde scare mongered in an X post that “If Iran gains long-term control of the Strait of Hormuz, it will be more powerful than it was before the U.S. and Israel attacked it, oil analyst warns.”
If Iran gains long-term control of the Strait of Hormuz, it will be more powerful than it was before the U.S. and Israel attacked it, oil analyst warns. TY @IanJSherwood https://t.co/WzX3gSfsEX
— David Rohde (@RohdeD) April 3, 2026
But on the flip side, Rohde himself attempted to dismiss the threat of Iran’s nuclear capabilities as fake news after Special Envoy Steve Witkoff stated that the Islamist regime was boasting that it was capable of making 11 bombs. “People who were present during the negotiations said that never happened, that the Iranians never made that statement,” Rohde snorted during the March 4 edition of MS Now’s Ana Cabrera Reports. Rohde would end up getting embarrassed just two hours after his appearance when the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi ended up confirming key details of Witkoff’s report.
MS NOW, whether it's on TV or the internet, is always there to try and rip Trump apart, no matter how much sense it makes.
