Donald Trump has again blasted ‘fake news’ media and accused journalists of leaking the contents of an off the record lunch meeting he hosted at the White House.
POTUS launched a tirade against a number of mainstream news outlets in a series of tweets, just hours after he walked out of a meeting with Democrat leaders in a bid to find a resolution to the Government shutdown.
‘The Mainstream Media has NEVER been more dishonest than it is now. NBC and MSNBC are going Crazy’he tweeted on Wednesday.
Donald Trump has again blasted ‘fake news’ media and accused journalists of leaking the contents of an off the record lunch meeting he hosted at the White House
In several late night tweets, POTUS accused several news outlets of being dishonest
‘They report stories, purposely, the exact opposite of the facts. They are truly the Opposition Party working with the Dems. May even be worse than Fake News CNN, if that is possible!
During an off-the-record lunch on Tuesday, Trump said that it was not his idea to deliver the speech or visit the southern border.
The lunch, in the White House’s Roosevelt Room, came hours before Trump delivered his prime-time address to the nation on Tuesday night – but the President made clear that he doubted the speech and border visit would be effective, a New York Times report claimed.
He reportedly told television news anchors that advisors had pressured him into an Oval Office speech on border security and a planned visit to the border.
The details of the luncheon were widely reported ahead of President Trump’s much anticipated televised addressed on Tuesday as he puts pressure on the Democrats to provide him with funding of $5.7 billion for his border wall.
He tweeted on Wednesday: ‘Gave an OFF THE RECORD luncheon, somewhat of a White House tradition or custom, to network anchors yesterday – and they quickly leaked the contents of the meeting.
Trump reportedly blamed communications aides Bill Shine, Sarah Huckabee Sanders (left) and Kellyanne Conway (right) for pressuring him to do the speech and border visit
White House Communications Director Bill Shine watches as U.S. President Donald Trump participates in a signing ceremony for Juvenile Justice Reform
‘Who would believe how bad it has gotten with the mainstream media, which has gone totally bonkers!’
At the lunch, Trump said of the planned border visit It’s not going to change a d**n thing, but I’m still doing it’.
Trump said the border trip was merely a photo opportunity, the source claimed.
‘But these people behind you say it’s worth it,’ Trump reportedly added, gesturing at communications aides Bill Shine, Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Kellyanne Conway.
Top news personalities including CNN’s Chris Cuomo, Fox News Channel’s Bret Baier and ABC’s George Stephanopoulos attended the lunch, which lasted about an hour and 20 minutes.
Donald Trump has previously clashed with CNN reporter Jim Acosta (pictured) which led to the White House revoking his press pass only to have it returned after he brought a lawsuit
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway says the group had a ‘robust exchange’ and ‘questions were asked and answered.’
Baier said on-air that attendees agreed to quote only one line from the president: ‘It was wonderful having lunch with you today.’
But he said that the White House believes the wall is a winning issue for Trump, whose refusal to sign a budget without billions for the border has forced a partial government shutdown.
Hours after the lunch, Trump spoke to the nation from the Oval Office for the first time in his presidency.
He claimed the standoff could be resolved in ’45 minutes’ if Democrats would just negotiate, but previous meetings have led to no agreement.
Democrats in response accused Trump appealing to ‘fear, not facts’ and manufacturing a border crisis for political gain.
In November, The White House denied CNN reporter Jim Acosta access to briefings and confiscated his ‘hard pass’ after a heated press-conference shouting match with Trump.
CNN sued on First Amendment grounds and claimed Acosta was denied a Fifth Amendment right to due process.
His pass was later restored after the channel filed a federal lawsuit against the administration.