President Donald Trump accused the New York Times of “endangering national security”, calling the newspaper “a serious threat” in a late-night rant on his Truth Social platform.
Trump said The Times published what he described as false and misleading reporting and accused it of biased coverage, without providing any evidence to support the allegations.
“The Failing New York Times, and their lies and purposeful misrepresentations, is a serious threat to the National Security of our Nation,” he wrote.
“Their Radical Left, Unhinged Behavior, writing FAKE Articles and Opinions in a never ending way, must be dealt with and stopped. THEY ARE A TRUE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE! Thank you for you attention to this matter. PRESIDENT DJT”.
It is not clear what particular article, if any, prompted the president’s rage. But it marks the latest in a series of attacks by the commander-in-chief against the publication, its staff and the media more broadly.
Earlier this month, Trump raged against The Times, accusing the it of “seditious, perhaps even treasonous” behavior after a recent op-ed questioned his health.
Opinion writer Frank Bruni scrutinized the 79-year-old president’s health in an article saying: “His approval ratings have declined in recent months, and so, by the looks of things, has his vigor.”
“After all of the work I have done with Medical Exams, Cognitive Exams, and everything else, I actually believe it’s seditious, perhaps even treasonous, for The New York Times, and others, to consistently do FAKE reports in order to libel and demean ‘THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,’” Trump wrote in response.
Another Times reporter was among a series of female journalists Trump has directly insulted in recent weeks.
In November he accused veteran White House reporter Katie Rogers of being “assigned to only write bad things” about him and called her “a third rate reporter who is ugly, both inside and out.”
“There will be a day when I run low on Energy, it happens to everyone, but with a PERFECT PHYSICAL EXAM AND A COMPREHENSIVE COGNITIVE TEST (“That was aced”) JUST RECENTLY TAKEN, it certainly is not now,” he added.
The broadside prompted The Times to issue a statement defending the journalist and its reporting.
“The Times’s reporting is accurate and built on first hand reporting of the facts. Name-calling and personal insults don’t change that, nor will our journalists hesitate to cover this administration in the face of intimidation tactics like this,” the broadsheet said.
Trump’s other recent attacks on multiple female reporters included labeling them “stupid” and “incapable,” and in one incident that promoted widespread backlash, told Bloomberg White House correspondent Catherine Lucey to be “quiet piggy.”
