New York Times Publisher and President Trump Clash Over Off-the-Record Meeting
On Sunday, President Trump made media relations more broken than ever before. A.G. Sulzberger, a publisher of The New York Times, met with President Trump earlier this month and implored him to “reconsider his broader attacks on journalism.” Trump, then tweeted about the details of their conversation, breaking their off-the-record deal.
Had a very good and interesting meeting at the White House with A.G. Sulzberger, Publisher of the New York Times. Spent much time talking about the vast amounts of Fake News being put out by the media & how that Fake News has morphed into phrase, “Enemy of the People.” Sad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2018
The New York Times said in a statement that White House aides requested that the July 20 meeting is off the record, “which has also been the practice for such meetings in the past” between presidents and Times publishers.
Sulzberger reportedly did not know what this meeting was about and claimed it was to raise concerns about the president’s deeply troubling anti-press rhetoric.
Sulzberger said he told Trump that while the phrase “fake news” is untrue and harmful, “I am far more concerned about his labeling journalists ‘the enemy of the people.’ I warned that this inflammatory language is contributing to a rise in threats against journalists and will lead to violence.”
Trump frequently attacked the Times, The Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC, Trump has repeatedly attacked the Times, The Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC, seeking to discredit them as “fake news” and railing against negative coverage of his administration. In the series of tweet’s Trump also claimed that 90 percent of the coverage of his administration is negative, leading to an “all time low” in public confidence in the media. He cited the Times and The Washington Post, two repeat targets, and claimed, “They will never change!”
The first tweet from President Trump was seemingly positive until he released another statement on their meeting stating, “When the media-driven insane by their Trump Derangement Syndrome – reveals internal deliberations of our government, it truly puts the lives of many, not just journalists, at risk!” Trump tweeted. “Very unpatriotic! Freedom of the press also comes with a responsibility to report the news … accurately.”
Days after this meeting, Trump stated to Veterans in Kansas City, Mo during a speech that “Don’t believe the crap you see from these people, the fake news,” he continued a few moments later, “Just remember: What you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening.”
