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 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.

 

 

 

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.