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President Trump speaks during a meeting with South Korean President Moon
Jae-in in the Oval Office of the White House on Saturday. (Associated
Press)
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Apologizing over putting out fake news. |
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President Trump
unleashed a barrage of criticism against the New York Times in a series
of tweets Saturday, describing the newspaper as “phony” over its
coverage of his immigration policies and predicting it would cease to
exist within six years.
In his first
Twitter post, the president blasted the paper for its story about his administration’s threats to release migrants into “sanctuary cities” as retaliation against Democrats.
"The
New York Times Sanctuary Cities/Immigration story today was knowingly
wrong on almost every fact," the president wrote. "They never call to
check for truth. Their sources often don’t even exist, a fraud. They
will lie & cheat anyway possible to make me look bad. In 6 years
they will be gone........."
Maggie
Haberman, the White House reporter for the Times, refuted Trump's
accusation that the paper never reached out for comment.
"POTUS
really ought to check in with his press team more often, or they with
him. NYT emailed three times for comment and press office acknowledged
receipt of emails," she tweeted.
Trump has repeatedly suggested releasing migrants into "sanctuary cities
." A
statement from the Department of Homeland Security to Fox News said the
idea to release immigrant detainees onto the streets of sanctuary
cities "was floated and rejected, which ended any further discussion.”
Trump's
follow-up post said the Times “begged” its subscribers for
forgiveness over its "pathetic" 2016 election coverage of him. The tweet
referred to a November 2016 letter from Times publisher Arthur O.
Sulzberger that promised readers it would “reflect” on its coverage and
rededicate itself to reporting on America and the world honestly."
"....When
I won the Election in 2016, the @nytimes had to beg their fleeing
subscribers for forgiveness in that they covered the Election (and me)
so badly. They didn’t have a clue, it was pathetic. They even apologized
to me. But now they are even worse, really corrupt reporting!," Trump
wrote.
The Times
denied apologizing to Trump.
Trump
then denied a Times report that claimed he directed acting Homeland
Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan to close the U.S.-Mexico border and offered to pardon him if things went awry.
"I
never offered Pardons to Homeland Security Officials, never ordered
anyone to close our Southern Border (although I have the absolute right
to do so, and may if Mexico does not apprehend the illegals coming to
our Border), and am not “frustrated.” It is all Fake & Corrupt
News!"