Trump denies report that he often uses unsecure iPhones

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday denied a report that he often calls friends to gripe or solicit advice on his unsecure iPhones, allowing Chinese spies to listen in and gain valuable insights into how to deal with the U.S. administration.

“The so-called experts on Trump over at the New York Times wrote a long and boring article on my cellphone usage that is so incorrect I do not have time here to correct it,” Trump said in a predawn tweet. “I only use Government Phones, and have only one seldom used government cell phone. Story is soooo wrong!”

The Times report, which prompted fresh calls from Democrats to investigate the president’s cellphone usage, said that Trump’s aides have warned him repeatedly that his mobile calls are not secure, and they have told him that Russian spies are also routinely eavesdropping on the calls. The Times said that American intelligence reports have indicated that Chinese spies are listening.

The Times said that aides had pressured Trump into using his secure White House landline more often lately but that he has still refused to give up his iPhones.

Former aide Omarosa Manigault Newman, who was fired in December, took to Twitter on Thursday to push back against the president’s denial.

“Clearly #45 memory is fading fast,” Manigault Newman wrote, referring to the president. “He ALWAYS used his personal iPhone in WH for calls even after being told over and over again about the security risk. He disliked his secure gov issued cell — he said it was slow and ‘buggy.’ ”