President Trump took aim once again at the legacy media in a Truth Social post on Monday evening. The target of Trump’s ire was The New York Times, a publication Trump has clashed with since entering politics.
“The Failing New York Times, and their lies and purposeful misrepresentations, is a serious threat to the National Security of our Nation,” President Trump said. “Their Radical Left, Unhinged Behavior, writing FAKE Articles and Opinions in a never ending way, must be dealt with and stopped. THEY ARE A TRUE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!”
President Trump has been vocal in his pushback against The New York Times since his first term in office. He has issued denials of the publication’s reporting on issues from his tax records and business dealings to the workings of his administration. In response, The New York Times has maintained that its news coverage is unbiased and is separate from its opinion coverage, which has been notably opposed to President Trump.
In addition to criticizing the paper, Trump has taken legal action against The New York Times over its reporting on high-profile stories. In his most recent lawsuit against The New York Times, President Trump has alleged that the paper attempted to damage his reputation leading up to the 2024 presidential election. The articles cited by President Trump’s legal team include reporting that his former chief of staff, John Kelly, allegedly said Trump would rule like a dictator.
The formal complaint echoes the sentiments shared by President Trump on Truth Social, calling The New York Times a “full throated mouthpiece of the Democrat Party,” and stating the operation of the paper is “one of industrial-scale defamation and libel against political opponents.”
The complaint alleges that the reporting by The New York Times was specifically geared towards hurting President Trump’s chances in the 2024 presidential election. However, the complaint also highlighted Trump’s persistent ability to overcome alleged smears by the mainstream media.
“President Trump brings this suit to highlight that principle and to clearly state to all Americans exhausted by, and furious at, the decades of journalistic corruption, that the era of unchecked, deliberate defamation by the Times and other legacy media outlets is over,” the suit said. “President Trump’s transcendent ability to defy wrongful conventions has been vividly reflected in his successful undertaking to restore integrity to journalism, and repair the immense damage caused by legacy media outlets such as the Times for the better part of a decade.”