President Donald Trump has made it clear that he's not a fan of the mainstream media. While Trump has many targets in the press that he aims for, the New York Times appears to be the first on his hit list.
Trump on the Times
Starting early on in his campaign for president, Donald Trump built up a wall between himself and the mainstream news media. From the moment he announced his candidacy to the day he was sworn into office, the former host of "The Apprentice" has created a rift between both sides that doesn't look to be improving anytime soon. In recent weeks, the news media has pushed hard against the administration, taking issue with many of his policies, including his executive order, known as the "Muslim ban," to his recent budget proposal that calls for increasing military spending by over 10 percent.
Last Friday, Trump addressed attendees at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where he ripped into the media, labeling many "fake news." Hours later, a long list of credible and well-respected news outlets were banned from covering the press briefing at the White House, which included the New York Times. During an exclusive interview with the right-wing publication Breitbart News, the president elaborated on his issues with the paper and the press.
'The Intent Is So Evil and So Bad': Trump Complains About New York Times in Breitbart Interview https://t.co/eJBUGLzcrP pic.twitter.com/t3z3HBnEYp
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) February 27, 2017
"They take the word fake out and all of a sudden it’s like I’m against....there are some great reporters like you," Donald Trump said to Breitbart News reporter Matthew Boyle.
Trump explained that he wasn't speaking about "great honorable reporters," noting, "I was talking about the fake media, where they make up everything there is to make up."
Trump to Matt Boyle "I didn’t say the media is the enemy — I said the ‘fake media.’" https://t.co/SLFBwbguYo
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) February 28, 2017
"It’s also intent," Donald Trump went on to say, in reference to the New York Times.
"If you read the New York Times...the intent is so evil and so bad," the president explained, while adding, "The stories are wrong in many cases, but it’s the overall intent." Not stopping there, Trump once again referred to the newspaper as the "failing New York Times," before attacking reporter Michael Barbaro, who originally broke the story a woman who claimed to be sexually assaulted by Trump in the past.
"He shouldn’t be allowed to be a reporter because he’s not objective," Trump said of Barbaro, The commander in chief then addressed himself in the first person, saying that Barbaro is "full of hatred of Donald Trump."
Next up
After five weeks in the White House, the division between Donald Trump and the media appears to have reached an all-time low. While it's unknown if there relationship can bounce back, neither side has shown sides of compromise at any point in the near future.
