Trump Falsely Claims ‘New York Times’ Made Up Source – Who Was Actually A White House Official

On Saturday, President Donald Trump accused the New York Times of using a “phony” source in an article about the on-again, off-again summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. He was wrong.

Trump took to Twitter to rail against the Times, alleging the “senior White House official” that said “even if the meeting were reinstated, holding it on June 12 would be impossible, given the lack of time and the amount of planning needed.”

The Failing @nytimes quotes “a senior White House official,” who doesn’t exist, as saying “even if the meeting were reinstated, holding it on June 12 would be impossible, given the lack of time and the amount of planning needed.” WRONG AGAIN! Use real people, not phony sources.

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— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2018

The White House official, however, does indeed exist. According to the Times, this official held a briefing on Thursday afternoon in the White House briefing room with about 50 reporters present and about 200 more on a conference call. The briefing was on the condition that official was referred to only as a “senior White House official” rather than by name. The official declined to have the briefing on the record – meaning they would be quoted by name – because the White House wanted to “let the president’s remarks stand,” according to the Washington Post.

Following the briefing, Trump reiterated to reporters that the summit could still potentially occur on June 12, saying, “They very much want to do it. We’d like to do it. We’ll see what happens.”

This Twitter attack is only one of several the president has launched in the past month, including angrily accusing NBC News of fabricating sources and attacking the Times once again for supposedly making up sources.

NBC NEWS is wrong again! They cite “sources” which are constantly wrong. Problem is, like so many others, the sources probably don’t exist, they are fabricated, fiction! NBC, my former home with the Apprentice, is now as bad as Fake News CNN. Sad!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 4, 2018

….non-existent “sources” and a drunk/drugged up loser who hates Michael, a fine person with a wonderful family. Michael is a businessman for his own account/lawyer who I have always liked & respected. Most people will flip if the Government lets them out of trouble, even if….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 21, 2018

It is unclear whether the president was unaware of this briefing or if he knowingly made up this statement in an attempt to discredit the media.