Donald Trump is not happy with the Washington Post — so much so that he’s pulling the paper’s press credentials for its “dishonest” reporting.
“Based on the incredibly inaccurate coverage and reporting of the record setting Trump campaign, we are hereby revoking the press credentials of the phony and dishonest Washington Post,” Trump said in a Facebook post on Monday.
What got Trump in a tizzy? Apparently the Donald didn’t like this headline for an article posted on Monday: “Donald Trump seems to connect President Obama to Orlando shooting.”
In an earlier Facebook message, Trump explained that he’s “no fan of President Obama, but to show you how dishonest the phony Washington Post is, they wrote, ‘Donald Trump suggests President Obama was involved with Orlando shooting’ as their headline. Sad!”
In a statement, Trump’s campaign elaborated on the decision to yank the paper’s credentials, saying, “The Washington Post unfortunately covers Mr. Trump very inaccurately.”
The statement went on to say, “We no longer feel compelled to work with a publication which has put its need for ‘clicks’ above journalistic integrity.” It continued, “They have no journalistic integrity and write falsely about Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump does not mind a bad story, but it has to be honest.”
“The fact is, The Washington Post is being used by the owners of Amazon as their political lobbyist so that they don’t have to pay taxes and don’t get sued for monopolistic tendencies that have led to the destruction of department stores and the retail industry,” the statement said.
The Post issued its own statement on Monday, arguing that Trump’s decision had nothing to do with the article and everything to do with muzzling the press.
“Donald Trump’s decision to revoke The Washington Post’s press credentials is nothing less than a repudiation of the role of a free and independent press,” editor Marty Baron said in a statement posted on Twitter. “When coverage doesn’t correspond to what the candidate wants it to be, then a news organization is banished. The Post will continue to cover Donald Trump as it has all along — honorably, honestly, accurately, energetically, and unflinchingly. We’re proud of our coverage, and we’re going to keep at it.”
Donald Trump today revoked press credentials for @washingtonpost. My statement here. pic.twitter.com/irSKhrpYiK
— Marty Baron (@PostBaron) June 13, 2016
This isn’t the first time Trump has slammed the Post.
In May, the presumptive GOP nominee, accused Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and owner of the paper, of using the Post as “a tool for political power.”
Bezos shot back, saying that Trump’s comments were “not an appropriate way for a presidential candidate to behave.”
And in January, Trump threatened to sue the Post after the newspaper published an article detailing the bankruptcy of the billionaire presidential candidate’s Atlantic City casino.