President Donald Trump escalated his criticism of the news media on Friday, taking direct aim this time at the use of anonymous sources. Reporters “shouldn’t be allowed to use sources unless they use somebody’s name,” he declared, just hours after members of his own staff held a press briefing and refused to allow their names to be used.
“A source says that Donald Trump is a horrible, horrible human being, let them say it to my face,” Mr. Trump told a large crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference. “Let there be no more sources.”
Members of Trump’s White House team regularly demand anonymity when talking to reporters.
Mr. Trump said he wasn’t against all media, just “the fake news media or press.”
“I’m against the people that make up stories and make up sources,” he said. “They shouldn’t be allowed to use sources unless they use somebody’s name.”
The President has chafed at a number of anonymously sourced stories, including numerous reports describing contacts between his campaign officials and the Russians, which the White House has sharply disputed. The White House went over its stance early Friday on condition no names be used.
“The fake news doesn’t tell the truth,” Mr. Trump insisted. “It doesn’t represent the people. It will never represent the people and we’re going to do something about it.”
