President Trump blasts new border wall claims, Washington Post and 'corrupt reporting'
Trump takes aim at press coverage during press availability with the president of Finland.
President Trump blasted a report that said he requested a moat with alligators, snakes and an electric fence as part of the planned wall along the southern border during a wild Oval Office spray on Wednesday -- but he took aim at the wrong outlet.
The president disputed a New York Times report that claimed his officials denied requests to install, among other things, flesh-piercing spikes, an electrified wall, and soldiers who would shoot rock-throwing migrants.
The Times report, published on Tuesday, included an excerpt from a book by two of the paper's reporters. It read: "Privately, the president had often talked about fortifying a border wall with a water-filled trench, stocked with snakes or alligators, prompting aides to seek a cost estimate.
Trump – who mixed up The Times and the Washington Post -- said his communications staff had informed him of an excerpt from a book “being written by Washington Post people,” adding “you know its inaccurate” and “probably a fraud.”
The book, “Border Wars: Inside Trump’s Assault on Immigration,” is written by New York Times reporters Michael D. Shear and Julie Hirschfeld Davis. Trump even said he questioned his communications team when he was asked about details of the report, such as the wall being electrified with spikes on top that could pierce human flesh.
“They came to me, the comms people, they came to me yesterday and said, ‘Did you say this,’ I said, ‘Why are you asking that stupid question?’” Trump said.
“I said obviously it’s fake because almost everything the Washington Post does is fake.
“Because almost everything the Washington Post does is fake. It’s a fake newspaper,” Trump added, while still referring to the story published in The Times. “It’s owned by a rich guy for the purposes of giving him power... I call it the Lobbyist Washington Post.”
The White House did not immediately respond when asked if his comments about The Post also apply to The Times.
Trump then reminded the reporters on hand that he had already addressed the situation on Twitter
“Now the press is trying to sell the fact that I wanted a Moat stuffed with alligators and snakes, with an electrified fence and sharp spikes on top, at our Southern Border,” Trump tweeted earlier on Wednesday. “I may be tough on Border Security, but not that tough. The press has gone Crazy. Fake News!”
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Trump then called the story “corrupt reporting” and declared that he had a new nickname for the mainstream media.
“I don’t even use ‘fake’ anymore, I call the fake news now ‘corrupt news,’ because ‘fake’ isn’t tough enough,” Trump said.
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Davis, one of the Gray Lady reporters involved, took to Twitter following the spray to remind Trump which newspaper she works for and to defend her reporting.
“For the record, we work for the New York Times, although it's always flattering to be lumped with the great Washington Post. Neither we nor the staff there are fake news or corrupt. @shearm and I stand by our reporting,” Davis wrote.
Fox News’ Sam Dorman and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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