New York Times to Trump: ‘We did not apologize’
The New York Times sought to correct the record with President Donald Trump Wednesday, pushing back on his claim that the Times “apologized to subscribers” for its election coverage.
“Remember when the failing @nytimes apologized to its subscribers, right after the election, because their coverage was so wrong,” Trump tweeted Wednesday morning. “Now worse!”
The Times’ communication team tweeted back, calling the claim “false.”
“.@realdonaldtrump False, we did not apologize,” the tweet read. “We stand by our coverage & thank our millions of subscribers for supporting our journalism.”
Trump was likely referring to a letter that New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. wrote to Times subscribers three days after election night. In the letter, Sulzberger wrote that the Times and other news outlets “underestimate[d] his support among American voters,” but said the paper’s staff believed it “reported on both candidates fairly during the presidential campaign.”
“As we reflect on this week’s momentous result, and the months of reporting and polling that preceded it, we aim to rededicate ourselves to the fundamental mission of Times journalism,” Sulzberger Jr. wrote in the letter, which thanked readers for their loyalty to the paper and did not include an apology. “That is to report America and the world honestly, without fear or favor, striving always to understand and reflect all political perspectives and life experiences in the stories that we bring to you.”
Trump has repeatedly tweeted about how the Times was “forced to apologize” for its reporting. That claim has also been repeated by right-wing media outlets.