Watch: Trump Goes on the Offensive Against The New York Times — 'They're Like Lunatics'
President Donald Trump said The New York Times is made up of “lunatics” and argued that 80 percent of the media is “fake news.”
“Fox & Friends” co-host Ainsley Earhardt asked Trump in an interview that will air on Thursday, “Is the press the enemy of the people?”
“No, not at all,” the president answered, “but the fake news is.”
“Fake news is a big chunk,” Trump contended. “Somebody said, ‘What is the chunk?’ 80 percent. It’s a lot.”
The president went on to observe if he does something well, it’s not reported, except by the 20 percent of the media that is not fake news.
“The New York Times cannot write a good story about me,” Trump said. “They’re crazed. They’re like lunatics.”
"Is the press the enemy of the people?" –@ainsleyearhardt
See more from Ainsley's exclusive interview with President @realDonaldTrump tomorrow 6-9amET pic.twitter.com/fxkMqzKr5c
— FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) August 22, 2018
Late last month, Trump tweeted that he had good meeting at the White House with A.G. Sulzberger, publisher of The New York Times.
“Spent much time talking about the vast amounts of Fake News being put out by the media & how that Fake News has morphed into phrase, ‘Enemy of the People.’ Sad!” the New York City native wrote.
Had a very good and interesting meeting at the White House with A.G. Sulzberger, Publisher of the New York Times. Spent much time talking about the vast amounts of Fake News being put out by the media & how that Fake News has morphed into phrase, “Enemy of the People.” Sad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2018
Sulzberger, who ascended to the top spot at The Times at the beginning of this year, offered his own account of their time together, saying he accepted the meeting to raise concerns about the chief executive’s “anti-press rhetoric.”
“I told (Trump) that although the phrase ‘fake news’ is untrue and harmful, I am far more concerned about his labeling journalists ‘the enemy of the people,'” Sulzberger said in a statement following the president’s tweet.
“I warned that this inflammatory language is contributing to a rise in threats against journalists and will lead to violence,” he added.
The publisher further recounted, “Throughout the conversation I emphasized that if President Trump, like previous presidents, was upset with coverage of his administration he was of course free to tell the world.”
“I made clear repeatedly that I was not asking for him to soften his attacks on The Times if he felt our coverage was unfair. Instead, I implored him to reconsider his broader attacks on journalism, which I believe are dangerous and harmful to our country.”
Earlier this month, first daughter Ivanka Trump stated that she does not believe the press is the enemy of the people.
After multiple media outlets reported that his daughter had broken with him on the issue, the president tweeted, “They asked my daughter Ivanka whether or not the media is the enemy of the people. She correctly said no.”
They asked my daughter Ivanka whether or not the media is the enemy of the people. She correctly said no. It is the FAKE NEWS, which is a large percentage of the media, that is the enemy of the people!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 2, 2018
Trump added, “It is the FAKE NEWS, which is a large percentage of the media, that is the enemy of the people!”
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