President Donald Trump accused vaunted newspapers The Boston Globe and The New York Times of financial collusion and called the press the opposition party, in an impromptu Twitter storm.
THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA IS THE OPPOSITION PARTY. It is very bad for our Great Country….BUT WE ARE WINNING!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 16, 2018
The Boston Globe, which was sold to the the Failing New York Times for 1.3 BILLION DOLLARS (plus 800 million dollars in losses & investment), or 2.1 BILLION DOLLARS, was then sold by the Times for 1 DOLLAR. Now the Globe is in COLLUSION with other papers on free press. PROVE IT!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 16, 2018
Trump appeared to reference the 2013 sale of the Boston Globe to businessman John Henry for approximately $70 million after purchasing itself for more than $1 billion in 1993. The Boston Globe joined The New York Times and dozens of other papers in publishing an op-ed extolling the virtues of the free press.
Despite the president’s apparent rancor at the coordinated op-ed on the free press, he then expressed his belief in absolute freedom of the press.
There is nothing that I would want more for our Country than true FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. The fact is that the Press is FREE to write and say anything it wants, but much of what it says is FAKE NEWS, pushing a political agenda or just plain trying to hurt people. HONESTY WINS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 16, 2018