Trump predicts New York Times’ demise: ‘Forced to close its dirty doors’

BS BULLETIN:

President Trump accused The New York Times of presenting Trump National Doral in a deliberately unflattering way.
He singled out reporters Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman with some very Trumpian nicknames.
Then Trump made a prediction about the newspaper itself: “The Times will be forced to close its dirty doors.”

Donald Trump has been feuding with The New York Times for roughly forever.

Monday’s installment came with a closing-date prediction.

Trump erupted after the Times published a story involving Trump National Doral in Miami, accusing the newspaper of using an image that made the resort’s exterior appear darker and more run-down than it actually is.

Trump wrote that the Times had presented a picture in which the facade was:

“blackened and denigrated by them in order to make it look shoddy, filthy, and just plain BAD.”

Trump argued the image did not accurately represent the property and posted another photograph that he said showed its actual appearance.

Then came the familiar Trump escalation.

He called the Times a “CROOKED outfit” and accused it of catering to people “who want to see our Country fail.”

And then the reporters got their turn.

Trump went directly after Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman:

“Guys like Liddle’ Peter Baker, and Maggot HAGerman, are Third Rate Reporters, who I haven’t spoken to in years, but who write about me constantly.”

Trump accused them of failing to fact-check their reporting or care whether their stories are accurate.

Then came the money quote:

“Some day in the not too distant future The Times will be forced to close its dirty doors, and that will be a Great Day for America!”

Trump wasn’t finished.

In another post, he again accused the newspaper of altering the appearance of Doral, calling the people responsible “STONE COLD LOSERS” and “Totally dishonest.”

He even supplied a destination for them:

“That’s why they’re going TO HELL.”

Subtle, this was not.

The Times dispute comes amid Trump’s broader and increasingly public war with major media organizations. Just days ago, he complained about the Times, Washington Post and MS NOW during a White House dinner attended by News Corp. executives, according to Axios.

Trump has also recently floated the possibility of excluding the Times from White House access while arguing that outlets including CNN, MS NOW and Politico have treated his administration unfairly.

And the Times has already been having a rather eventful week with conservatives online.

After its initial description of the FlyDubai cockpit attack as an “altercation,” the newspaper drew ridicule and a Community Note. When Times communications defended its approach by saying it doesn’t publish “speculation or unverified information,” actor James Woods fired back by invoking the paper’s Russia coverage.

So Trump’s latest explosion didn’t exactly arrive in a vacuum.

But predicting that America’s most famous newspaper will soon be locking the doors for good?

Even by Trump-vs.-the-media standards, that’s turning the volume knob pretty far to the right.

MY QUICK TAKE

Trump and The New York Times have spent so many years fighting each other that they ought to qualify for a common-law marriage.

But there’s something wonderfully Trumpian about this particular dispute.

Most presidents unhappy with a photograph might have an aide call the newspaper and request a correction.

Trump produced photographic evidence, called the newspaper crooked, renamed two reporters, predicted the entire institution’s demise and informed everybody involved of their probable destination in the afterlife.

All over a picture of a hotel.

The communications consultants of Washington have spent decades teaching politicians how to stay “on message.”

Trump’s contribution to political history may be proving that sometimes the message can simply be: Oh, we’re doing this? Fine. Everybody get in here.