'Fake News': Trump Responds After NYT Says He Uses Unsecure Phones
The target of President Donald Trump’s latest “fake news” allegation is a frequent foe.
In a series of tweets Thursday, Trump took issue with a report from The New York Times about foreign countries supposedly spying on his cellphone conversations.
The president initially said the “long and boring” article by the “so-called experts on Trump” at The Times — reporters Matthew Rosenberg and Maggie Haberman — was “so incorrect I do not have time here to correct it.”
Trump went on to say he almost always uses government phones and has “only one seldom used government cell phone.”
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. I only use Government Phones, and have only one seldom used government cell phone. Story is soooo wrong!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 25, 2018
Trump emphasized his incredulity, describing the article as “soooo wrong!”
The president later referenced the article again, reiterating that he is an infrequent cellphone user and twice referring to the report as “Fake.”
The New York Times has a new Fake Story that now the Russians and Chinese (glad they finally added China) are listening to all of my calls on cellphones. Except that I rarely use a cellphone, & when I do it’s government authorized. I like Hard Lines. Just more made up Fake News!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 25, 2018
The president added that he likes “Hard Lines” and called the article “more made up Fake News!”
According to Rosenberg and Haberman’s report, multiple “current and former American officials” expressed concern regarding Trump’s unsecured cellphone use.
After repeatedly and unsuccessfully lobbying the president to give up his iPhones, the article claims, “White House officials say they can only hope he refrains from discussing classified information when he is on them.”
The officials cited in the Times report said U.S. intelligence sources have found evidence that Chinese and Russian actors have intercepted communications involving Trump via his cellphone use.
Specifically, the report identified Stephen A. Schwarzman, chief executive of the Blackstone Group, and Steve Wynn, the former casino owner, as individuals Chinese operatives targeted in the eavesdropping scheme.
Among their alleged goals was delivering pro-China arguments to Trump through the men’s direct communication with the president, the article said.
Asked about the issue, Blackstone spokeswoman Christine Anderson said only that Schwarzman “has been happy to serve as an intermediary on certain critical matters between the two countries at the request of both heads of state.”
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