The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
‘We’re going to do something about fake news’
Trump: No more anonymous sources
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump escalated his criticism of the news media on Friday, taking direct aim this time at the use of anonymous sources. Reporters “shouldn’t be allowed to use sources unless they use somebody’s name,” he said, just hours after members of his own staff held a press briefing and refused to allow their names to be used.
“The fake news doesn’t tell the truth,’’ Trump insisted. “It doesn’t represent the people. It will never represent the people and we’re going to do something about it.’’
“A source says that Donald Trump is a horrible, horrible human being, let them say it to my face,’’ he told the Conservative Political Action Committee. “Let there be no more sources.”
Members of Trump’s team regularly demand anonymity when talking to reporters.
Speaking to a large crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump said he wasn’t against all media, just “the fake news media or press.”
“I’m against the people that make up stories and make up sources,’’ he said. “They shouldn’t be allowed to use sources unless they use somebody’s name.”
Trump has chafed at a number of anonymously sourced stories, including numerous reports describing contacts between his campaign officials and the Russians, which the White House has sharply disputed.
‘I won’t disappoint you’
It was a triumphal return to CPAC for Trump, who was warmly welcomed by the crowd.
After his broadside on the press, Trump turned to a recitation of his agenda, promising bold action on healthcare, trade, energy policy and more.
“One by one, we’re checking off the promises we made to the American people,’’ he said, “I will not disappoint you.’’
Trump said that the healthcare law he inherited from Barack Obama threatens to bring about “total catastrophe,’’ reiterating his promise to repeal and replace it. He highlighted his efforts to get tough on illegal immigration, saying that “as we speak today, immigration officers are finding gang members, drug dealers and criminal aliens and throwing them the hell out.”
He promised changes to the welfare system, saying, “It’s time for all Americans to get off welfare and get back to work,’’ adding that: “You’re going to love it.”
He reminisced about his victory in the Republican primaries. He vowed to “build the wall’’ along the Mexican border. He denounced Hillary Clinton’s characterisation of some of his supporters as belonging in a “basket of deplorables.” The CPAC crowd responded to his Clinton criticism with chants of “Lock her up!’’ just as they did at Trump rallies last year.
Trump recalled his past visits at CPAC with nostalgia, saying he’d first appeared with no notes and little preparation and gotten areceptionthathelpedtoputhim on the path to the presidency. AP