Trump gives sarcastic shoutout to media on ‘spying’ reports

President Trump on Friday gave a tongue-in-cheek acknowledgement of The New York Times after the newspaper reported that the FBI sent an investigator posing as a research assistant to meet with then-Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos in 2016.

{mosads}”Finally, Mainstream Media is getting involved — too ‘hot’ to avoid. Pulitzer Prize anyone?” Trump tweeted, welcoming that the Times “finally” put the story on the front page.

“This is bigger than WATERGATE, but the reverse!” added Trump, who regularly criticizes the Times.

The tweet appeared to be prompted by a chyron on “Fox & Friends” that read, “NYT Details Effort to Spy on Trump 2016 Campaign.”

Finally, Mainstream Media is getting involved – too “hot” to avoid. Pulitzer Prize anyone? The New York Times, on front page (finally), “Details effort to spy on Trump Campaign.” @foxandfriends This is bigger than WATERGATE, but the reverse!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2019

The Times reported Thursday that the undercover investigator met with Papadopoulos at a London bar, where she asked him about whether the campaign was working with Moscow.

The report is likely to fuel Trump’s claims that there was “spying” on his 2016 campaign. Attorney General William Barr has said he believes “spying did occur” and that he is looking into whether it was properly predicated.

Trump has been fixated on the fallout from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, seeking to put the spotlight on his adversaries and stonewall efforts to delve further into Mueller’s findings.

The president’s focus on surveillance of his campaign comes despite tweeting late Thursday that there should be “no more costly & time consuming investigations.”

“OK, so after two years of hard work and each party trying their best to make the other party look as bad as possible, it’s time to get back to business,” he tweeted, calling on Democrats and Republicans to address infrastructure, immigration and drug prices.

OK, so after two years of hard work and each party trying their best to make the other party look as bad as possible, it’s time to get back to business. The Mueller Report strongly stated that there was No Collusion with Russia (of course) and, in fact, they were rebuffed…..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2019

…at every turn in attempts to gain access. But now Republicans and Democrats must come together for the good of the American people. No more costly & time consuming investigations. Lets do Immigration (Border), Infrastructure, much lower drug prices & much more – and do it now!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2019

The tweet is at odds with Trump’s public comments calling for an investigation into the origins of Mueller’s probe.

The Trump campaign issued an official statement responding to the Times report, saying, “It is high time to investigate the investigators.”