Donald Trump Calls ‘The New York Times’ An “Enemy Of The People”

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to call The New York Times an “enemy of the people” for what he said was its dishonest reporting.

The New York Times reporting is false. They are a true ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2019

While the accusation does not cite any specific story, it comes one day after the newspaper published a report delineating the ways Trump has attempted to influence investigations into his administration and former allies.

The Times swiftly responded to Trump’s tweet by defending the integrity of their report:

We stand by our investigation, which was rigorously reported and based on a review of confidential White House documents as well as interviews with dozens of current and former government officials and others close to President Trump. https://t.co/yG4mDpHpnU

— NYTimes Communications (@NYTimesPR) February 20, 2019

A.G. Sulzberger, the Times‘ publisher, issued a statement hours after Trump’s tweet. Suizberger condemned Trump’s statement for being “reckless” and endangering journalists’ safety.

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“It is particularly reckless coming from someone whose office gives him broad powers to fight or imprison the nation’s enemies,” Sulzberger said. “As I have repeatedly told President Trump face to face, there are mounting signs that this incendiary rhetoric is encouraging threats and violence against journalists at home and abroad.”

Although at times Trump has managed to praise his home state’s newspaper, his relationship with it and the press as a whole has been very contentious. In May he had toyed with the idea of revoking press credentials, citing an abundance of fake news, and he at one point banned CNN’s Jim Acosta from press briefings.