AP FACT CHECK: Trump on ‘phony’ sources

Published 8:16 am Wednesday, May 30, 2018

TRUMP, on a possible summit with North Korea: “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.” — tweet Saturday.

THE FACTS: Actually, the source does exist. The White House official addressed a group of reporters as part of a background briefing arranged by the White House press office.

While Trump has criticized the use of unidentified sources and labeled information related by anonymous officials “fake news,” his White House regularly arranges briefings with officials who demand anonymity before relaying information. An Associated Press reporter in attendance at last week’s briefing questioned why it was not on the record — meaning that the official’s name could be used. The official said Trump had been talking publicly that day and so the briefing was intended to provide “background context.”

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