Donald Trump and the mainstream media have not been on the same page since the day he kicked off his campaign for president back in 2015. After Trump once against accused the paper of "fake news," the president faced an instant fact-check over his remarks.
The Failing New York Times wrote another phony story. It was political pundit Doug Schoen, not a Ukrainian businessman, who asked me to do a short speech by phone (Skype), hosted by Doug, in Ukraine. I was very positive about Ukraine-another negative to the Fake Russia C story!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2018
Trump on NYT
The feud between Donald Trump and the mainstream media started back during the start of the 2016 presidential election and has only picked up steam over the last three years.
One of the president's top targets has been the New York Times, who created another headache for the administration in a report earlier this week. On Monday, the Nyt reported that a Ukrainian businessman Victor Pinchuk donated $150,000 to the Trump Foundation back in 2015 in exchange for the former host of "The Apprentice" to make a video appearance at a conference in the Ukraine.
Our story is accurate and we stand by it. Here’s the link to the story by @maggieNYT and @nytmike: https://t.co/IMbsPJ1kce pic.twitter.com/BGzqy2TrTP
— NYTimes Communications (@NYTimesPR) April 11, 2018
In response, Donald Trump ripped into the New York Times during a tweet on April 11. "The Failing New York Times wrote another phony story," Trump tweeted, claiming that "It was political pundit Doug Schoen, not a Ukrainian businessman, who asked me to do a short speech by phone (Skype), hosted by Doug, in Ukraine." "I was very positive about Ukraine-another negative to the Fake Russia C story!" Trump noted.
In a follow-up tweet, Trump expanded his criticism of the "fake news," highlighting several issues dealing with trade with China, as well as issues with Syria and North Korea.
Trump corrected
Not long after Donald Trump fired off his angry tweet at the New York Times, the paper took to Twitter to fact-check the president, while releasing the full report to the public so they can read for themselves.
"Our story is accurate and we stand by it," the offical New York Times Communications Twitter account posted, before providing a link the story in question written by Maggie Haberman and Michael S. Schmidt.
Political pundit Doug Schoen, who works for that Ukrainian businessman, arranged the speech ...as our story says. https://t.co/JCr0CYoPI5
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) April 11, 2018
Maggie Haberman also responded to Trump on her own Twitter account adding, "Political pundit Doug Schoen, who works for that Ukrainian businessman, arranged the speech ...as our story says." Schmidt then tweeted a similar sediment by quoting from the report in question.
As of press time, neither Trump nor the White House have issued a response to the New York Times following their rebuttal.
Next up
As the feud between Donald Trump and the media continues, the pressure is mounting on the president over a variety of issues plaguing his administration. With an approval rating hovering around just 40 percent or lower, only time will tell if Trump is able to bounce back.
