President Trump once again vented his frustration with the Washington Post, this time over a “garbage” story about his chief of staff John Kelly.
“The Washington Post is far more fiction than fact. Story after story is made up garbage – more like a poorly written novel than good reporting,” Trump said in a tweet early Sunday morning. “Always quoting sources (not names), many of which don’t exist. Story on John Kelly isn’t true, just another hit job!”
The Washington Post is far more fiction than fact. Story after story is made up garbage – more like a poorly written novel than good reporting. Always quoting sources (not names), many of which don’t exist. Story on John Kelly isn’t true, just another hit job!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2018
The report Trump appears to be retaliating against bears the headline “‘When you lose that power’: How John Kelly faded as White House disciplinarian.”
As Trump mentioned in his tweet, the story uses unnamed sources and describes Trump’s ire when conservative allies panned him for not being tough enough on immigration, prompting him to get so frustrated that he fired embattled Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin.
Sources told the Post that Kelly was really miffed that day, saying, “I’m out of here, guys.” The report mentioned that both Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen attempted to calm Kelly down; some sources interpreted Kelly’s comments as a threat to quit, but one senior administration official told the Post he was only venting.
Axios reported a similar story on Saturday.
The tweet from Trump is his latest attack on the publication. Recently he demanded the “Fake Washington Post” register as a lobbyist and has also ripped retail giant Amazon, the delivery company. Jeff Bezos, who founded Amazon, owns the Washington Post.
