WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump accused The New York Times on Saturday of inventing a source for a story who, in fact, was a White House official conducting a briefing for reporters under the condition that the official not be named.
Trump tweeted that the Times quoted an official "who doesn't exist" and referenced a line in the story about a possible summit with North Korea, which read: "a senior White House official told reporters that 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."
Said Trump: "WRONG AGAIN! Use real people, not phony sources."
The Times reported in a story about the tweet that it had cited "a senior White House official speaking to a large group of reporters in the White House briefing room."
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.