President Donald Trump called out a New York Times story about the United States pressing to kill a World Health Assembly resolution in support of breastfeeding.
“The U.S. strongly supports breast feeding but we don’t believe women should be denied access to formula,” Trump tweeted Monday. “Many women need this option because of malnutrition and poverty.”
The failing NY Times Fake News story today about breast feeding must be called out. The U.S. strongly supports breast feeding but we don’t believe women should be denied access to formula. Many women need this option because of malnutrition and poverty.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 9, 2018
According to the Times story, U.S. officials tried to change language that called on lawmakers to stop the promotion of foods that scientists believe have negative affects on young kids.
The officials reportedly went so far as to threaten the Ecuadorian government, the country that introduced the resolution, that if they didn’t back down, the U.S. would add sanctions and revoke funding. Ecuador obliged.
“We recognize not all women are able to breast-feed for a variety of reasons,” a Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said to the Times. “These women should have the choice and access to alternatives for the health of their babies, and not be stigmatized for the ways in which they are able to do so.”
Trump and the New York Times have had a rocky relationship. Most recently, Trump tweeted about Twitter’s removal of fraudulent accounts questioning why the Times’ account hasn’t been revoked. (RELATED: President Trump Bings Up Twitter Purge To Slam ‘Failing New York Times’ And Washington Post)