President Donald Trump called The Wall Street Journal reporting “fake news” Sunday, saying the paper misquoted him as saying he had a “pretty good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.
On Thursday, WSJ reported that Trump said, “I probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong-un. I have relationships with people. I think you people are surprised.”
Trump called the report “fake news,” saying that he began the sentence “I’d” instead of “I,” which would change the meaning of the quote to the president saying he believes he could come to good terms with Kim Jong-Un instead of boasting of a relationship he already has with North Korea’s head of state, whom Trump has mocked on Twitter as “Little Rocket Man.”
The Wall Street Journal stated falsely that I said to them “I have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un” (of N. Korea). Obviously I didn’t say that. I said “I’d have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un,” a big difference. Fortunately we now record conversations with reporters…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2018
…and they knew exactly what I said and meant. They just wanted a story. FAKE NEWS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2018
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also criticized the paper, releasing on Twitter what she called the “official audio showing WSJ misquoting” Trump, along with an image with the words “fake news” in large red letters. WSJ responded by posting its own audio and releasing a statement saying it was standing by its reporting.
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) January 13, 2018
We have reviewed the audio from our interview with President Trump, as well as the transcript provided by an external service, and stand by what we reported. Here is audio of the portion the White House disputes. https://t.co/eWcmiHrXJg pic.twitter.com/bx9fGFWaPw
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) January 14, 2018
Earlier this month, Trump promised that he would announce “the most dishonest & corrupt media awards of the year,” and last week postponed the mocking awards to Wednesday citing high interest. Trump has not announced the winners of his awards yet, nor has the White House released any statement announcing when he would do so.
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