President Trump directed his ire at the New York Times on Wednesday morning, declaring the publication the “true ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE.”
The New York Times published a lengthy piece a day prior, describing how the president had waged a public, though sometimes secret, assault on the investigations surrounding him. His tactics, the report said, had made him susceptible to accusations that he has obstructed justice in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation and the Southern District of New York investigations.
Trump singled out the Times for its reporting, veering from his usual schtick of referring to the “fake news” media as the enemy of the people.
“The New York Times reporting is false. They are a TRUE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!” he wrote, not referring to any specific example from the newspaper.
[Also read: Trump: The press will ‘all go BUST’ once he leaves office]
The New York Times reporting is false. They are a true ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2019
Trump denied part of the Times report Tuesday, which said Trump asked then-acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker late last year to put the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, a Trump loyalist, in charge of the investigation into Michael Cohen after the attorney had already recused himself from the probe.
“No, I don’t know who gave you that,” Trump said of asking Whitaker about the recusal.
