Trump renews criticism of US media, alleges ‘fake news’

Washington: US President Donald Trump launched a fresh broadside against major US news organisations and New York Times reporters, defending his record while accusing the media of “Fake News”, as the White House Correspondents’ Association condemned what it described as intimidation of journalists.

In a series of lengthy posts on his Truth Social platform, Trump singled out New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman and journalist Jonathan Swan, while urging supporters not to buy their forthcoming book. The posts came as the Trump administration faces mounting criticism over subpoenas issued to four New York Times reporters in connection with reporting on security concerns surrounding the new Air Force One.

“Maggot Hagerman has covered me incorrectly for ten years. Her book is a joke! 90% of it is Fake News,” Trump wrote.

He added that Haberman had “made a living off her bad reporting” and claimed she “will pay the price when our Multi Billion Dollar Lawsuit against The Failing New York Times gets to Court.”

Trump also said he had recently completed “a perfect physical at Walter Reed” and had requested “another Cognitive Test”.

“I aced them all — Got every question right,” he wrote, adding that he was “the only President to do so, three times.”

In another post, Trump claimed his electoral victories demonstrated that the media had “NO CREDIBILITY.”

“With only bad Press and Fake News, I won the Presidential Election IN A LANDSLIDE. Therefore, the Media has NO CREDIBILITY!” he wrote.

In a third message, Trump again attacked Democratic leaders and major US news outlets, including ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. He argued that negative media coverage had failed to stop his political success and asserted that he had won despite “almost 100% negative press and Fake News.”

Trump also repeated his criticism of Haberman and Swan, describing the Times as spending “all of its energy on negative stories about me.”

The remarks followed reports that the Justice Department had subpoenaed four New York Times journalists who reported on security concerns involving the Qatari-donated aircraft now serving as Air Force One. According to The New York Times, the reporters were ordered to testify before a federal grand jury after publishing stories stating that the aircraft lacked some defensive capabilities found on the previous presidential aircraft.

Responding to the developments, White House Correspondents’ Association President Weijia Jiang issued a statement backing the journalists.

“The White House Correspondents’ Association stands with the New York Times reporters who were targeted for doing their jobs to uphold the public’s right to know how its government operates,” Jiang said.

“The WHCA condemns any act of intimidation against journalists, including attempts to pressure them into revealing sources.”

The dispute marks the latest escalation in Trump’s long-running confrontation with major US news organisations, particularly those whose reporting he has frequently described as inaccurate or politically motivated. Throughout both his first and current terms, Trump has repeatedly accused sections of the American media of publishing “Fake News” and has filed lawsuits against several outlets.

IANS