New York Times Publisher Fires Back at Trump’s ‘ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE’ Tweet: ‘It’s Dangerous’

New York Times Publisher Fires Back at Trump’s ‘ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE’ Tweet: ‘It’s Dangerous’

New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger published a response to President Trump’s Wednesday morning tweet calling the paper the “ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE,” calling the president’s violent rhetoric both “false” and “dangerous.”

Following a well-documented and comprehensive Times report revealing that the president attempted to pressure then-Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker to interfere in the Southern District of New York’s Michael Cohen investigation, Trump tweeted out that the Times’ reporting “is false” and that they are truly the public’s enemy.

In a statement published in the Times Wednesday afternoon, Sulzberger noted that while presidents in the past have complained about the coverage they’ve received but that by “demonizing the free press as the enemy, simply for performing its role of asking difficult questions and bringing uncomfortable information to light, President Trump is retreating from a distinctly American principle.”

Noting that the phrase “enemy of the people” is “not just false, it’s dangerous,” Sulzberger said that this rhetoric has an “ugly history” of being used by dictators and tyrants.

Besides blasting the Times as an enemy, Trump also tweeted that the “dishonest” press write stories with “absolutely no basis in fact,” complaining that “writers don’t even call for verification.”

This was refuted by NYT reporter Maggie Haberman, who flat out called this a “lie” Wednesday morning, pointing out that she and other reporters reached out to the president last week to and sent several emails looking for comment.

The president has continued to call the “Fake News” media the “enemy of the people” over the past year, even after a Trump superfan mailed pipe bombs to CNN’s offices and American journalists have been targeted and killed. This, however, seems to be the first time he has singled out a single publication with the attack like while not using his “Fake News” qualifier.

Justin Baragona

Justin Baragona is the founder/publisher of Contemptor and a contributor to The Daily Beast. He was previously the Cable News Correspondent for Mediaite and prior to starting Contemptor, he worked on the editorial staff of PoliticusUSA. During that time, he had his work quoted by USA Today and BBC News, among others. Justin began his published career as a political writer for 411Mania. He resides in St. Louis, MO with his wife and pets.

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