Donald Trump continued his attacks on the US media yesterday, singling out the New York Times, after the newspaper's coverage suggested that the new president is personally isolated inside an understaffed and inexperienced White House.
Resuming hostilities with the US' most prominent newspaper that began early in the presidential campaign, Trump wrote on Twitter: "The failing @nytimes writes total fiction concerning me. They have gotten it wrong for two years, and now are making up stories & sources!"
A NYT article published Sunday described "a surprisingly small crew of no more than a half-dozen empowered aides with virtually no familiarity with the workings of the White House or federal government", citing "dozens" of government officials, congressional aides and former staff members, mostly unnamed.
The paper claimed that aides met in darkness, unable to find the cabinet room's light switches.
The article said the president often spends evenings alone in the White House, with his wife, Melania, and their son living in New York.
Trump spends a lot of time watching cable news channels and "feels increasingly pinched by the pressures of the job and the constant presence of protests," the paper said.
The report described White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and chief strategist Steve Bannon as "two clashing power centres" around the president.
After Trump's tweet, the Times defended its coverage and sourcing, adding that far from "failing," its combined print and digital subscriptions topped the 3 million mark last week.
The paper gained 276,000 digital subscriptions in the fourth quarter of 2016, its best quarter since 2011 when it launched the pay model, it said.
The Times said Trump was angered that he was not informed about the details of his unusual order placing Bannon, as a political hand, on the White House National Security Council.
In response, Priebus has forged a checklist to better study future initiatives, but Bannon remains Trump's "dominant adviser," according to the Times.
Perhaps rankled by the Times and other recent reports describing Bannon's strong sway over Trump, the president tweeted Monday: "I call my own shots, largely based on an accumulation of data, and everyone knows it. Some FAKE NEWS media, in order to marginalise, lies!"
He further declared that "any negative polls are fake news" and insisted that "people want border security and extreme vetting" of refugees entering the country.
Multiple surveys show his approval ratings are lower than any modern president so early in his term. Trump was sworn into office on Jan 20.
- dpa
