Trump Predicts Demise of 2 Prominent US Newspapers
US leader attacks New York Times and Washington Post which often publish articles he labels as 'fake news'
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump contended Sunday two of the country's top newspapers, The New York Times and The Washington Post, would go out of business when he leaves office. Trump attacked both newspapers, both of which often publish articles that he labels as "fake news" — stories about his chaotic White House and administration policies that he does not like. "A poll should be done on which is the more dishonest and deceitful newspaper, the Failing New York Times or the Amazon (lobbyist) Washington Post!" Trump said on Twitter, referring to the Post's ownership by Jeff Bezos, the founder of the giant online retailer Amazon. "The good news is that at the end of 6 years, after America has been made GREAT again and I leave the beautiful White House (do you think the people would demand that I stay longer? KEEP AMERICA GREAT), both of these horrible papers will quickly go out of business & be forever gone!" Trump said. He was making an assumption that he is re-elected in 2020 and his White House tenure extends through 2024. Trump rarely misses an opportunity to attack the U.S. mainstream news media and its coverage of him, but it was not immediately clear what prompted his joint attack on the Times and Post, both of which were founded in the 19th century, and over the years have won dozens of Pulitzer Prizes, journalism's top award for excellence. Late Saturday, however, he unleashed a broadside on the Times for its story disclosing that the U.S. had secretly stepped up its online attacks on Russia's power grid. "This is a virtual act of Treason by a once great paper so desperate for a story, any story, even if bad for our Country," he tweeted.