Ever since becoming president, Donald Trump has increased his war of words with the mainstream media. After yet another Twitter attack on the New York Times, the paper decided to strike back.
NYT on Trump
From the day Donald Trump announced his campaign for president, he quickly came under fire from the press when he referred to illegal immigrants coming from Mexico as "murderers" and "rapists." While most members of the press criticized Trump and his campaign moving forward, the former host of "The Apprentice" singled out a handful of news outlets to use as his favorite targets.
In addition to the likes of CNN and NBC News, Trump has hit back hard at the New York Times. Labeling them the "failing" New York Times, the president banned the newpaper, along with others, from attending a press briefing at the White House last Friday. As seen on the February 26 edition of CNN's "Reliable Sources," the paper has decided to respond to the onslaught of criticism.
Joining CNN host Brian Stelter was the executive editor of the New York Times Dean Baquet. After Stelter pointed out that Donald Trump had used the term "failing" to describe the New York Times on more than 50 occasions, the editor of the paper decided to set the record straight. "We're not failing at all,” Baquet said, before explaining, "Our digital subscriptions are going through the roof.
Even print subscriptions are up."
"We're not failing at all," says @nytimes Executive Editor @deanbaquet, in response to President Trump's tweets https://t.co/WRPmKAmGI0
— CNN (@CNN) February 26, 2017
Dean Baquet described the New York Times as a "profitable company," with a "newsroom that's hiring." Baquet went forward, accusing Donald Trump of pushing falsehoods on Twitter in an attempt to delegitimize those who are put in place to hold his feet to the fire.
"If you look at the pattern of the president's tweets, they’re actually designed to minimize the institutions who are charged with holding him accountable," Baquet noted.
Times on the rise
Not stopping there, the executive editor appeared to throw shade at Donald Trump, citing his aggressive tweets as one of the reason the New York Times has seen an increase in subscriptions rates.
"Trump is the best thing to happen to the Times" he said, before explaining, "Every time he tweets, it drives subscriptions wildly."
For first time the failing @nytimes will take an ad (a bad one) to help save its failing reputation. Try reporting accurately & fairly!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 26, 2017
Next up
Following his tweets and ban against the New York Times and other mainstream media outlets, Donald Trump announced over the weekend that he would not attend the 2017 White House Correspondents' Dinner. The event is an annual tradition where the media and politicians in Washington, D.C. get together for a roast of one another, which is usually highlighted by a comedy performance by the sitting president.
