President Donald Trump on Saturday slammed "phony sources" for a New York Times report in an apparent reference to a story about his yet-to-be-finalized meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. But the Times report actually came from a formal briefing that was attended by several news agencies, according to Politico.
"The Failing @nytimes quotes 'a senior White House official,' who doesn't exist, as saying 'even if the meeting were reinstated, holding it on June 12 would be impossible, given the lack of time and the amount of planning needed.' WRONG AGAIN! Use real people, not phony sources," Trump tweeted Saturday.
The Times reported Friday a White House official said holding the summit on the originally scheduled date of June 12 would be "impossible" due to the planning needed. However, the official did not use that word, according to the transcript of the briefing.
"There's a certain amount of actual dialogue that needs to take place at the working level with your counterparts to ensure that the agenda is clear in the minds of those two leaders when they sit down to actually meet and talk and negotiate, and hopefully make a deal. And June 12 is in 10 minutes, and it's going to be – you know," the official said during a telephone briefing on Thursday with reporters, according to a White House transcript. "But the President has said that he has – someday, that he looks forward to meeting with Kim."
Trump has indicated he thinks the talks may still be able to take place on June 12 and White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Saturday an administration pre-advance team was enroute to Singapore to arrange logistics.
Trump has long decried "fake news" and has especially called out the Times over their reporting. On Saturday, he again blasted the publication in a tweet, stating, "The @nytimes has called me wrong right from the beginning!"
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