The New York Times has doubled the amount of reporters covering the White House since Trump took office, said executive editor Dean Baquet at the Code Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California on Tuesday night, according to a Business Insider report.
The team covering the White House has increased from three to six, according to the report.
“We’re watching a Washington story unlike any other. I think we’re seeing a drama, a fight in the White House, and a government investigation that’s unprecedented,” Baquet said.
Baquet said that the company feels it is important to cover Trump’s tweets. “He’s president of the U.S., even if it’s late-night thoughts or early-morning thoughts — they are his thoughts,” he said at the conference. Those six reporters covering the White House are sure to fact-check every tweet, though. “We truth-squad all of them as soon as they come up. We report it and tell the public the truth of every tweet. We have to truth-test them,” he said.
Despite several layoffs, the newspaper doubled down on coverage of the Trump administration in January, setting aside $5 million to cover the new presidency. In a letter sent to staff at the start of the new year, Baquet and managing editor Joe Kahn said, “you should know the company is investing more than ever in accountability journalism. As we explain later in this document, the business side will provide us an additional $5 million so we can produce even more coverage of the incoming Trump administration.”
The letter continued: “We will use these resources to ensure that we remain ahead in chronicling the Trump era in Washington, New York, the nation and the world. We will be adding to the ranks of our investigative journalists and subject-area experts, from taxes and immigration to education and climate change, to ensure that no one has more compelling coverage on the White House and beyond.”
13 Donald Trump Tweets That Read Like Self-Owns After Health Care Bill Fail (Photos)
Donald Trump prides himself on being a great negotiator and deal-maker. But in the biggest deal of his young presidency, the American Health Care Act, he came up short. But he's been plenty vocal about the need for a great negotiator-in-chief on Twitter before. Here are 13 Trump tweets that Trump probably wishes he could delete.
Republicans coming together
Apparently Trump was a bit too optimistic about the cooperation he was helping put together.
A better negotiator
Trump knows what kind of president we need. When it came to the health care bill, every time he tried to negotiate, things got worse. And it was never in line with his campaign promises.
Maybe he forgot the leverage
Trump tried to force Republicans to play ball with an ultimatum. Apparently he didn't have the kind of leverage he mentioned in his book.
Sometimes you have all the cards...
This one is pretty delightful when applied to the current situation. Republicans have the presidency, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. Even with the deck stacked, he and Paul Ryan couldn't put the bill over.
Maybe he needed more gold
Business is one thing, but trying to get your party to back a bill nobody likes operates under a different set of rules.
"FAKE NEWS!"
Trump tried to spin the stories of failing negotiations with his usual disdain for the media. Hard to blame the "fake news" when Republicans aren't even willing to vote on the bill, though.
The goods
Then again, he knows you need to deliver the goods. The American Health Care Act is not it.
The Great Negotiator
Trump puts a lot of stock in his negotiation skills, but walking away with a big check in the loss column makes this a pretty rough self-own.
The only one who can do it
Trump's constant assertion that nobody else could possibly make the deals necessary to repeal and replace Obamacare didn't turn out to be accurate. Turned out he wasn't the right person to make the deals, either.
It's your chance
Trump insisted this was the chance for a better health care plan. Nobody bought it -- including Republicans.
Don't be desperate
With advice like this in his book "The Art of the Deal," it might have been a good idea for him to re-read his own material before trying to force the vote on the bill.
Be flexible
Stories of the health care bill negotiations suggested Trump was anything but flexible. Reportedly, he gave Republicans an ultimatum to push the vote. It didn't quite work out.
Or maybe it's all a ruse?
There are plenty of Trump supporters who think failing to "repeal and replace" is actually a long-term secret plan. Maybe he's playing the long game?
Bonus: Sean Spicer own
Spicer has a few choice tweets from back during the Obama administration that he probably wouldn't want anyone to bring up again. Here's one.
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Donald Trump’s old tweets about negotiations don’t seem like they’re “winning” after Trump fails to bring home the Republican health care bill
Donald Trump prides himself on being a great negotiator and deal-maker. But in the biggest deal of his young presidency, the American Health Care Act, he came up short. But he's been plenty vocal about the need for a great negotiator-in-chief on Twitter before. Here are 13 Trump tweets that Trump probably wishes he could delete.
