The New York Times hit back against an attack by President Donald Trump on its journalists, with the newspaper saying it would not bow down to “intimidation tactics.”
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday night, the president lashed out at White House correspondents Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman, as well as The New Yorker’s Susan Glasser, who is Baker’s wife.
Glasser and Baker co-authored a book about Trump’s first term in office, called “The Divider.”
In his post, Trump called Baker “Liddle’ Peter Baker,” describing him as an “Obama biographer and sycophant.” Haberman, who often dubbed the newspaper’s Trump whisperer for her regular scoops from inside the White House, was referred to as “Maggot Hagerman.”
The president suggested Baker is tasked “to write many of the long and boring fake news hit pieces against me,” and that Haberman “may be the least talented writer in the entire stable of New York Times’ MEDIOCRITY!”
“There’s something really wrong with these people, and their SICK, TRUMP DERANGED EDITORS,” he wrote.
In response, the Times said in a statement, “Peter Baker, Maggie Haberman and their colleagues have an unrivaled record of covering this and prior administrations fully and fairly.”
“Intimidation tactics against Times reporters or their family members have never caused us to back down from our mission of holding powerful people to account, regardless of which party is in office,” it continued.
It’s unclear which story, if any, stoked Trump’s anger.
The Times has recently written pieces critical of Elon Musk, including one on Sunday detailing how the billionaire presidential aide stands to enrich himself further from new government contracts.
The Times, which has more than 10 million total subscribers, faced criticism for going too easy on Trump during the election campaign, specifically for its apparent focus on then-President Joe Biden’s age before the Democrat withdrew from the race, at the expense of highlighting the threat posed by his GOP rival.
Trump last week blasted the Times as it, among others, reported Musk was set to get a Defense Department briefing on the country’s top secret plans if there was ever a war with China.
“The Fake News is at it again, this time the Failing New York Times,” Trump said in a post.
Musk also went after the Times.
“I look forward to the prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information to NYT,” Musk wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “They will be found.”
Attacks on the media have been a hallmark of Trump’s second term.
His actions, for example, have included banning The Associated Press from presidential events over the news agency’s refusal to follow his executive order that renamed the Gulf of Mexico.