Bloomberg stood by its claim that the news organization honored its off-the-record agreement regarding insulting remarks President Trump made about Canada.
“When we agree that something is off the record, we respect that agreement,” tweeted Craig Gordon, Bloomberg’s Washington, D.C., bureau chief, early Sunday.
Bloomberg has not published any off-the-record portions of our interview with Donald Trump, and we have not authorized the release of any off-the-record material. When we agree that something is off the record, we respect that agreement.
— Craig Gordon (@dcraiggordon) September 2, 2018
Toronto Star writer Daniel Dale said Saturday that Bloomberg was not his source for the story, which included parts of an off-the-record Oval Office interview with three Bloomberg journalists.
Trump has blasted the release of his statements, which in part said he would not make any trade concessions with Canada. “It’s going to be so insulting they’re not going to be able to make a deal,” he reportedly said.
The two nations were in the midst of now-stalled negotiations regarding the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement and a new bilateral trade deal with Mexico the White House has said would “supplant” the three-country NAFTA.
In a tweet late Friday, Trump wondered whether Bloomberg would issue an apology.
