President Trump took to Twitter on Thursday to declare that “low-life leakers” who spoke to the New York Times “will be caught.”
The Times recently reported, using anonymous sources, that members of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and other Trump associates spoke with Russian intelligence in the year before the election. What many consider to be top-notch journalism is a threat to Trump, who is on the attack against whoever leaked the information.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/832197515248275456
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/832198588201594880
The Times did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Trump has been on a mission to discredit reports that use anonymous sources, recently writing, “The real story here is why are there so many illegal leaks coming out of Washington?” Ironic, given that before winning election, he proclaimed to “love WikiLeaks,” and read hacked emails related to opponent Hillary Clinton that Julian Assange’s site had made public.
The president and his team continue to attack the media on a regular basis, with Steve Bannon referring to the press as the “opposition party” as recently as Wednesday, according to a variety of White House correspondents.
Just yesterday, Trump tweeted that MSNBC and CNN are “unwatchable,” while praising “Fox & Friends.”
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/831830548565852160
In addition to his tweets, Trump has staged a mini protest against mainstream media by only calling on news organizations that he considers friendly during recent press conferences.
“In the last three news conferences, all of the questions to the America news media have been handled by conservative press,” CNN’s Jim Acosta said on air following Wednesday’s news conference. “The fix it in.”