Media

Maggie Haberman on Trump’s criticism of NYT report: ‘That’s a lie’

by Joe Concha - 02/20/19 11:00 AM ET

New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman refuted President Trump’s claim that reporters fail to reach out to the White House for comment, calling it “a lie” during an interview on CNN Wednesday morning.

“I sent several emails that went unanswered until yesterday. We went through a detailed list of what we were planning on reporting,” Haberman, who also serves as a CNN contributor, told “New Day.”

{mosads}”They chose not to engage, and afterwards, the president acts surprised,” she continued. “Whether his aides are not telling him what we are looking at or whether this is a game and he knows what it is and he’s pretending, I can’t read his mind. We certainly follow normal reporting practices and went over it at length with the White House and the Department of Justice.”

“That’s not true, that’s a lie,” Haberman later added. “I don’t know if he knows it’s a lie or whether he is telling himself this is true, whether his staff doesn’t tell him we are reaching out. I find it hard to believe that his staff didn’t reach him that this kind of a report was coming.”

The president targeted the media in a Wednesday tweet which included claiming writers “don’t even call asking for verification” while declaring the Times as “the enemy of the people.”

“The Press has never been more dishonest than it is today,” he wrote to his more than 58 million followers. “Stories are written that have absolutely no basis in fact.”

“The writers don’t even call asking for verification. They are totally out of control. Sadly, I kept many of them in business. In six years, they all go BUST!”

The Press has never been more dishonest than it is today. Stories are written that have absolutely no basis in fact. The writers don’t even call asking for verification. They are totally out of control. Sadly, I kept many of them in business. In six years, they all go BUST!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2019