Li'l Donnie Trump tweeted about a meeting he had with A.G. Sulzberger, publisher of the New York Times.
Trump is lying. A.G. Sulzberger says so.
A little bit of background on that one.
On July 20, Sulzberger and James Bennet, the editor of the Times’ editorial page, met with Trump at the White House, Eileen Murphy, a spokeswoman for the Times, commented that "this was not unusual; there has been a long tradition of New York Times publishers holding such meetings with presidents and other public figures who have concerns about coverage.”
Here's an interesting twist. Trump’s aides requested the meeting be off the record. Trump didn't listen to them. His tweet on Sunday put the meeting “on the record". Which means that for A.G. Sulzberger, the gloves were off as per the following statement.
My main purpose for accepting the meeting was to raise concerns about the president’s deeply troubling anti-press rhetoric.
I told the president directly that I thought that his language was not just divisive but increasingly dangerous.
I told him that although 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.
I repeatedly stressed that this is particularly true abroad, where the president’s rhetoric is being used by some regimes to justify sweeping crackdowns on journalists. I warned that it was putting lives at risk, that it was undermining the democratic ideals of our nation, and that it was eroding one of our country’s greatest exports: a commitment to free speech and a free press.
Throughout the conversation I emphasized that if President Trump, like previous presidents, was upset with coverage of his administration he was of course free to tell the world. I made clear repeatedly that I was not asking for him to soften his attacks on The Times if he felt our coverage was unfair. Instead, I implored him to reconsider his broader attacks on journalism, which I believe are dangerous and harmful to our country.
Trump often accuses the Times and other media outlets, including The Washington Post, CNN and NBC, of publishing false stories in response to articles that portray him in an unflattering manner.
As you know, Li'l Donnie has a bad habit of calling any story he doesn't like "Fake News", accusing media outlets like CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times and more of making up out of thin air all stories that portray him or his administration in a negative light. Trump has gone as far as to call out the press at his rallies as "really bad people" and "the enemy of the people". In an appearance last week, Trump evoked George Orwell's 1984 by declaring that whatever people was seeing or hearing in the news isn't really happening.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Times’ statement. Sarah Succubus Sanders was asleep in her sarcophagus and I'm sure she will work up a lie about it by tomorrow.
Anyway, Trump is still living in his delusional bubble. I'm sure whatever Sulzberger said, Trump wasn't hearing it.
What Sulzberger said: "I implored you to reconsider your broader attacks on journalism, which I believe are dangerous and harmful to our country.
What Trump heard: "You're the greatest President ever! Sorry about the Fake News! You are the best!"
In other news, Trump is still bitchin' and moanin' about Mueller's investigation but guys, I just can't deal with that right now.
No comments:
Post a Comment