Trump demands from New York Times a 'bigger & better apology' than the one he didn't get in 2016
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President Trump, who continues to assert, falsely, that the New York Times apologized to him for its coverage of the 2016 election, is demanding a “far bigger & better apology” over criticism of him by columnist Paul Krugman in Tuesday’s paper.
Trump spent Easter weekend golfing in Florida, but since his return to Washington, D.C., has been prolific on social media, tweeting and retweeting over 50 times in 24 hours. Tuesday morning he put on his media critic hat, giving a rundown of coverage from “Fox & Friends” (“best of the morning political shows on television”), “Morning Joe” (helped him get elected but “too Angry, Dumb and Sick”), CNN (“a proven and long term ratings and beyond disaster”).
Trump was especially put out by Krugman’s column, in which the columnist wrote that "the occupant of the White House betrayed his country.”
“I wonder if the New York Times will apologize to me a second time, as they did after the 2016 Election,” Trump tweeted. “But this one will have to be a far bigger & better apology. On this one they will have to get down on their knees & beg for forgiveness-they are truly the Enemy of the People!”
The New York Times public relations account responded to the tweet with a quote from publisher A.G. Sulzberger’s February statement about Trump’s attacks on the press, writing, “The phrase ‘enemy of the people’ is not just false, it’s dangerous. It has an ugly history of being wielded by dictators and tyrants who sought to control public information.”
Trump has frequently claimed the newspaper “apologized” for the way it covered him in 2016, something the paper has denied. A few days after the election, Sulzberger and executive editor Dean Baquet published an open letter to readers raising the question of whether “Trump’s sheer unconventionality [led] us and other news outlets to underestimate his support among American voters.”
But the paper, apart from its routine practice of correcting factual errors in its reporting, has not acknowledged any bias in its news coverage.
On its editorial page, it generally supports Democrats and endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Many of Trump’s tweets and retweets were critical of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report, a redacted version of which was released Thursday. Mueller found repeated instances of Trump attempting to obstruct justice that were ignored by his staffers. Some prominent Democrats, including 2020 candidates Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, have called for the House to begin impeachment proceedings.
“Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough responded on air to Trump.
“Why, thank you,” Scarborough said sarcastically. “I remember you telling Jeff Zucker that you didn’t need CNN, the entire network of CNN, to get elected, but you are saying our show is so powerful that we got you elected. Wow, that’s great!”
Trump ended his tirade by writing, “KEEP AMERICA GREAT!”
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