Trump’s Saturday of Lies: President Says Official Who Briefed Reporters “Doesn’t Exist”

President Donald Trump seems to have woken up on Saturday in the mood to tell a few lies on Twitter. The most easily disproven tweet came as part of what has become a common theme for the commander in chief: blasting the New York Times. Saturday’s attack on the paper started with the president calling it “Failing and Corrupt,” claiming there is “ZERO disagreement within the Trump administration as to how to deal with North Korea.”

A dubious statement, to be sure, but the whopper came in the following tweet: “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!” The president then went on to give some advice to the paper: “Use real people, not phony sources.”

As many reporters were quick to point out, the source the Times used in its story wasn’t only real but he talked from a podium of the White House briefing room to dozens of reporters who were present—and even some who had joined in on the phone—for a background briefing. The ground rules for background briefings state that the name of the official must remain anonymous.

This is extraordinary. 

The official gave the briefing from the podium of the White House briefing room, before dozens of reporters.

And the President claims that he doesn't exist.