Both on the campaign trail and in the White House, President Donald Trump has consistently bashed the “failing” New York Times, publicly trashing the paper for being biased and unfair.
But Trump’s rhetoric is hard to square with the fact that he has consistently given the Times a leg up over their competition, repeatedly giving the paper scoops and exclusive interviews. (RELATED: New York Times Hires Reporter Who Sent Stories To Clinton Staffers For Approval)
President Trump sat down with three NYT reporters on Wednesday, bashing Attorney General Jeff Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia probe and warning special counsel Robert Mueller not to look into his finances as part of his investigation. (News leaked on Thursday that Mueller is doing exactly that.)
When the Republican health care bill failed to pass the House in March, it was the NYT’s Maggie Haberman who Trump called to get his message out.
TRUMP tells me in interview this is now the Democrats’ fault, and that he anticipates that when Obama “explodes” they will be ready to deal
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) March 24, 2017
Trump has frequently complained about my reporting, yet still got on the phone for an interview about his new life. He remains the most 1/
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 25, 2017
One month before then, Trump called the NYT “the enemy of the American People!”
Just days after his inauguration, Trump spoke with Haberman for a story about his new life in the White House, speaking pleasantly and laughing with the reporter the Clinton campaign would use to “tee up” stories. Four days after the interview ran, Trump was back to calling the NYT “FAKE NEWS and failing.” (RELATED: Clinton Campaign And Harry Reid Worked With NYT To Smear State Dept Watchdog)
Trump bashed the NYT all throughout his presidential campaign, at one point threatening to sue the paper over its reporting. The NYT, Trump said in September, was “no longer a credible source.” He frequently described the paper’s reporting as “fiction” and “false,” repeatedly accusing NYT reporters of making up sources.
But two weeks after his electoral victory, it was the Times that Trump sat down with for an interview, where he privately described the paper’s reporting with much different language than he does when addressing his supporters. (RELATED: NYT Uses GOP Shooting To Falsely Attack Sarah Palin With Debunked Conspiracy Theory)
“I will say, The Times is, it’s a great, great American jewel,” Trump said. “A world jewel. And I hope we can all get along.”
