https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/poli...nalists-as-enemies/ar-BBLd18C?ocid=spartandhp
President Donald Trump met with the publisher of the New York Times A.G. Sulzberger earlier this month. But the two seem to have different recollections of the July 20th meeting at the White House.
Trump first revealed the meeting took place in a tweet on Sunday morning from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
"Had a very good and interesting meeting at the White House with A.G. Sulzberger, Publisher of the New York Times," Trump wrote. "Spent much time talking about the vast amounts of Fake News being put out by the media & how that Fake News has morphed into phrase, 'Enemy of the People.' Sad!"
In a lengthy statement released after Trump's tweet, the New York Times said that it was the White House who invited the Times, and that it requested the meeting be off-the-record.
But with Trump's tweet, a Times spokeswoman said the newspaper decided to publicize Sulzberger's "detailed notes." Sulzberger attended the meeting along with editorial page editor, James Bennet.
Sulzberger said he accepted the meeting to raise concerns about "the president's deeply troubling anti-press rhetoric" and that he told Trump his language was divisive and "increasingly dangerous."
"I told him that although the phrase 'fake news' is untrue and harmful, I am far more concerned about his labeling journalists 'the enemy of the people.' I warned that this inflammatory language is contributing to a rise in threats against journalists and will lead to violence," Sulzberger said.
"I repeatedly stressed that this is particularly true abroad, where the president's rhetoric is being used by some regimes to justify sweeping crackdowns on journalists. I warned that it was putting lives at risk, that it was undermining the democratic ideals of our nation, and that it was eroding one of our country's greatest exports: a commitment to free speech and a free press.
"Throughout the conversation I emphasized that if President Trump, like previous presidents, was upset with coverage of his administration he was of course free to tell the world. I made clear repeatedly that I was not asking for him to soften his attacks on The Times if he felt our coverage was unfair. Instead, I implored him to reconsider his broader attacks on journalism, which I believe are dangerous and harmful to our country," he continued.
President Donald Trump met with the publisher of the New York Times A.G. Sulzberger earlier this month. But the two seem to have different recollections of the July 20th meeting at the White House.
Trump first revealed the meeting took place in a tweet on Sunday morning from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
"Had a very good and interesting meeting at the White House with A.G. Sulzberger, Publisher of the New York Times," Trump wrote. "Spent much time talking about the vast amounts of Fake News being put out by the media & how that Fake News has morphed into phrase, 'Enemy of the People.' Sad!"
In a lengthy statement released after Trump's tweet, the New York Times said that it was the White House who invited the Times, and that it requested the meeting be off-the-record.
But with Trump's tweet, a Times spokeswoman said the newspaper decided to publicize Sulzberger's "detailed notes." Sulzberger attended the meeting along with editorial page editor, James Bennet.
Sulzberger said he accepted the meeting to raise concerns about "the president's deeply troubling anti-press rhetoric" and that he told Trump his language was divisive and "increasingly dangerous."
"I told him that although the phrase 'fake news' is untrue and harmful, I am far more concerned about his labeling journalists 'the enemy of the people.' I warned that this inflammatory language is contributing to a rise in threats against journalists and will lead to violence," Sulzberger said.
"I repeatedly stressed that this is particularly true abroad, where the president's rhetoric is being used by some regimes to justify sweeping crackdowns on journalists. I warned that it was putting lives at risk, that it was undermining the democratic ideals of our nation, and that it was eroding one of our country's greatest exports: a commitment to free speech and a free press.
"Throughout the conversation I emphasized that if President Trump, like previous presidents, was upset with coverage of his administration he was of course free to tell the world. I made clear repeatedly that I was not asking for him to soften his attacks on The Times if he felt our coverage was unfair. Instead, I implored him to reconsider his broader attacks on journalism, which I believe are dangerous and harmful to our country," he continued.
