Presumed Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump escalated his war on the media Monday by revoking press credentials for The Washington Post.
In an announcement on his Facebook page, the mercurial tycoon called the Post’s coverage unfair and inaccurate.
“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,” Mr. Trump wrote.
He cited specifically a Washington Post headline, “Donald Trump suggests President Obama was involved with Orlando shooting” from earlier Monday. Several conservative anti-Trump commentators on social media already had suggested the headline overstated what Mr. Trump had said.
Mr. Trump said he was “no fan of President Obama,” but the headline still showed “how dishonest the phony Washington Post is.”
The Post dialed back their headline on the article in question later in the afternoon; as of 5:15 p.m., it reads “Donald Trump seems to connect President Obama to Orlando shooting.”
The quote that the Post stated as implying that Mr. Obama was involved in the Orlando shooting came from an interview Mr. Trump had given Fox News earlier Monday.
“Look, we’re led by a man that either is not tough, not smart, or he’s got something else in mind … the something else in mind — you know, people can’t believe it. People cannot, they cannot believe that President Obama is acting the way he acts and can’t even mention the words ’radical Islamic terrorism.’ There’s something going on. It’s inconceivable. There’s something going on,” he said.
In a comment released to reporters, Post editor Marty Baron called the revocation “nothing less than a repudiation of the role of a free and independent press. When coverage doesn’t correspond to what the candidate wants it to be, then a news organization is banished.”
He vowed that his paper “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.”
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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