President Donald Trump on Saturday accused the New York Times of inventing an unnamed source who, in reality, spoke to reporters at a background briefing Thursday that the President’s own press office scheduled.
Unlike what the Failing and Corrupt New York Times would like people to believe, there is ZERO disagreement within the Trump Administration as to how to deal with North Korea…and if there was, it wouldn’t matter. The @nytimes has called me wrong right from the beginning!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2018
The Failing @nytimes quotes “a senior White House official,” who doesn’t exist, as saying “even if the meeting were reinstated, holding it on June 12 would be impossible, given the lack of time and the amount of planning needed.” WRONG AGAIN! Use real people, not phony sources.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2018
Trump, who on Thursday morning cancelled his planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, appeared to be quoting a Friday New York Times article that carried the following paragraph:
As with so many issues involving this president, the views of his aides often have little effect on what he actually says. On Thursday, for example, a senior White House official told reporters that even if the meeting were reinstated, holding it on June 12 would be impossible, given the lack of time and the amount of planning needed.
That information, multiple reporters said Saturday, came from what’s known as a “background briefing,” a briefing between a government official and members of the press in which the official remains nameless.
This official said this in a background briefing on Thursday https://t.co/rYX3dtQY5w
— Kevin Liptak (@Kevinliptakcnn) May 26, 2018
This is extraordinary.
The official said this from the podium of the White House briefing room, before dozens of reporters. https://t.co/F6xxs6qYFa
— Steven Portnoy (@stevenportnoy) May 26, 2018
I sat in a White House briefing this week with dozens of reporters (on phone and in person), and a senior White House official said something similar. The official said holding it on 6/12 would be difficult because 6/12 might as well be "in 10 minutes," and it takes time to plan. https://t.co/BPla484NIG
— Sarah McCammon NPR (@sarahmccammon) May 26, 2018
I mean, every reporter on the call knows who this official was, and this official exists. And we all heard the official say it. https://t.co/iEiTEpHeyb
— Mike Warren (@MichaelRWarren) May 26, 2018
.@realDonaldTrump is slamming the @nytimes for citing a senior White House official “who doesn’t exist,” but the portion of the article he appears to be referring to directly cites comments made at a background briefing the White House held for the whole press corps Thursday. pic.twitter.com/xVtZ1J4hPX
— Alex Mallin (@alex_mallin) May 26, 2018
At least one reporter, Yashar Ali, even named the source. He said the official who gave the briefing on background was Matt Pottinger, a foreign policy aide to Trump.
The official is Matt Pottinger who serves on the National Security Council. He briefed dozens of reporters on background. https://t.co/5FUP7t8nYQ
— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) May 26, 2018
4. I've obtained audio of the WH press briefing. You can hear Raj Shah, Deputy Press Secretary, introduce Pottinger (along with the terms – which are standard) and then Pottinger makes the statement that POTUS says was never made. Lots of reporters in briefing room and on phone. pic.twitter.com/2gEYkRSyTv
— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) May 26, 2018
The Daily Beast identified Pottinger as the source in an article Thursday, noting that while “[t]he call was conducted on an off-the-record condition. […] The Daily Beast was not a party to the call and was briefed by a source who recounted Pottinger’s comments.”
The briefing, according to an email TPM and other news organizations received Thursday from the White House press office, was held in the White House briefing room and scheduled by White House staff. Reporters from around the nation were invited to call in to the briefing on a White House-provided phone number, using a White House-provided access code.
Here’s the text of that email:
Background Briefing with Senior White House Official on North Korea
This afternoon, a senior White House official will hold an off-camera, not for broadcast, background briefing on North Korea. The briefing will be conducted in person and via conference call at 3:30PM EDT, and the information will be embargoed until the conclusion of the briefing. The number of lines are limited and available on a first-come-first-served basis, so please limit to one per outlet. Please find the updated dial-in information below.
In Person: White House Briefing Room
Participant Dial-In: [redacted]
Access Code: [redacted]
Trump has a long record of asserting that unnamed sources who provide inconvenient information don’t exist. His White House and others before it also have a long record of providing unnamed sources to the press corps in order to tell their side of the story in a more candid atmosphere.
Ronald Kessler reported in his recent book that Trump himself frequently acts as an unnamed source to news outlets. And as a New York City tabloid star before his political career began, Trump sometimes used fake personas when speaking to reporters.
This post has been updated.
“Who are you going to believe? Me or your own eyes?”
Cheetolini imitates Chicolini.
On the other hand, Duck Soup was a comedy.
Senile old goat. With apologies to genuine senile old goats.
Fuck Trump and his lying fantasies.