On Thursday afternoon, Fox News host Lara Trump directed viewers to a video her father-in-law had just posted to Truth Social. It showed Iran’s B1 bridge — one of the tallest structures in the Middle East — collapsing under a U.S. airstrike near the city of Karaj, roughly 20 miles west of Tehran.
She pointed at the camera and smiled.
“Take a look at all the videos he’s posted of the bombs dropping, of the explosions, of us targeting something the size of basically a fingernail,” she said on Outnumbered. “Our United States military. It is really impressive.”
She said the word again. “We’ve never had a president like this willing to do this sort of thing. And hopefully it’s all for the best, you know, for the entire world.”
The B1 bridge was still under construction. It had not yet opened to the public. Iran’s Deputy Minister of Roads confirmed it was scheduled to be inaugurated later this year.
Thursday was also Nature Day — the final day of the Nowruz holidays — when Iranian families traditionally gather outdoors. According to provincial authorities, civilians had assembled under the bridge and along the nearby riverbank to celebrate. The bridge was struck twice, roughly an hour apart. The second wave arrived while rescue teams were still working the scene from the first.
Lara Trump: You wanna talk about what the US can do? Take a look at this video. pic.twitter.com/WrR8ZZ9skm
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 2, 2026
At least eight people were killed and 95 were wounded. By Friday, Iranian state media reported the death toll had climbed to 13. Provincial officials said those killed included residents of the nearby village of Bileqan and families who had been out for the holiday. Officials said there was no military activity in the surrounding area.
A former State Department lawyer, speaking to The New York Times, suggested the bridge appeared to have been targeted not for military advantage — but to generate content.
President Trump posted the collapse video with the caption: “The biggest bridge in Iran comes tumbling down, never to be used again — Much more to follow!”
His daughter-in-law turned it into a Fox News segment.
The messenger
Before joining Fox, Lara Trump’s media career consisted of producing segments for Inside Edition and hosting a web series called The Right View. She is not a military analyst. She is the president’s daughter-in-law, the former co-chair of the Republican National Committee — a position her father-in-law hand-picked her for in 2024 — and the host of My View with Lara Trump, a Saturday evening show that premiered two days after President Trump met with Fox owner Rupert Murdoch in the Oval Office. It was, as the New York Times noted at the time, unprecedented — a sitting president’s close family member hosting on a major news network.
On Thursday, she used that platform to describe the bombing of a holiday gathering as “really impressive.” She did not mention the casualties. She did not mention that the bridge hadn’t opened yet. She did not mention the double-tap strike — the kind designed to hit first responders.
The next morning
Less than 24 hours later, Iran shot down an American F-15E Strike Eagle — the first time Iran had successfully downed a U.S. aircraft since the war began more than a month ago.
One crew member was rescued on Iranian soil by U.S. special forces. The second remains missing. A regional governor offered a bounty of roughly $60,000 for anyone who captures the American pilots alive. Iranian state television called on civilians to help find them.
Then it got worse. An A-10 Warthog, deployed to support the rescue, was struck by Iranian fire and crashed. Two Black Hawk helicopters involved in the search were also hit, injuring crew members on board.
In a single day, Iran brought down two U.S. aircraft and struck two helicopters.
On Wednesday night, from the White House, the president had declared: “They have no anti-aircraft equipment. We are unstoppable as a military force.”
On Thursday, his daughter-in-law called it impressive.
On Friday, an American pilot was missing behind enemy lines, with a price on his head.
Lara Trump has not commented on the developments.
