President Donald Trump lied to reporters at the White House on Wednesday night, in his first remarks about the anonymous New York Times op-ed in which a senior administration official described him as amoral, ill-informed, and unfit for office.
When the president was asked for his response to the allegation, he first dismissed it as an illustration of “the dishonest media.” He then defended his record and reached inside his jacket pocket to find the text of an article which, he said, bolstered his case that “nobody has done what this administration has done in terms of getting things passed and getting things through.”
The president made a show of reading the article’s headline out loud — “Trump breaks the record for budget gridlock wins; scores big win” — held it aloft proudly, and read out more phrases from the text as he gave a deeply confusing account of the record he was proud to have broken.
“So for 20 years — it’s a 20-year record — for a 20-year record,” the president said, “they call it ‘the “fouled-up” budget gridlock’ and ‘scores big win.’ Here is the thing. So this just came out. So in 20 years, it hasn’t been like it is now. It’s — we broke — we broke it.”
Close readers of the Trump presidency will not be shocked to learn that there is no mention at all of any record in the real text of the article. The actual headline, visible in an image of the printout captured by Associated Press photographer Susan Walsh, is, in fact, “Trump breaks 20-year ‘fouled up’ budget gridlock, scores big wins.”
That report, from the pro-Trump Washington Examiner columnist Paul Bedard, was about the unified Republican government managing to avoid the disagreements over spending that were common in the past 20 years, when the White House and Congress were often controlled by different parties.
Still, Trump’s blatant disregard for the actual text of the article he held up for reporters to photograph did contribute to one record he is on pace to set: as the first president to be caught lying more than 10,000 times during a four-year term.
Top photo: President Donald Trump showed reporters an article about himself during an event with sheriffs in the East Room of the White House on Sept. 5, 2018.
IT’S EVEN WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT.
What we’re seeing right now from Donald Trump is a full-on authoritarian takeover of the U.S. government.
This is not hyperbole.
Court orders are being ignored. MAGA loyalists have been put in charge of the military and federal law enforcement agencies. The Department of Government Efficiency has stripped Congress of its power of the purse. News outlets that challenge Trump have been banished or put under investigation.
Yet far too many are still covering Trump’s assault on democracy like politics as usual, with flattering headlines describing Trump as “unconventional,” “testing the boundaries,” and “aggressively flexing power.”
The Intercept has long covered authoritarian governments, billionaire oligarchs, and backsliding democracies around the world. We understand the challenge we face in Trump and the vital importance of press freedom in defending democracy.
We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?
IT’S BEEN A DEVASTATING year for journalism — the worst in modern U.S. history.
We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government’s full powers to dismantle the free press. Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump’s project to create a post-truth America. Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.
In this most perilous moment for democracy, The Intercept is fighting back. But to do so effectively, we need to grow.
That’s where you come in. Will you help us expand our reporting capacity in time to hit the ground running in 2026?
We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?
I’M BEN MUESSIG, The Intercept’s editor-in-chief. It’s been a devastating year for journalism — the worst in modern U.S. history.
We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government’s full powers to dismantle the free press. Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump’s project to create a post-truth America. Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.
In this most perilous moment for democracy, The Intercept is fighting back. But to do so effectively, we need to grow.
That’s where you come in. Will you help us expand our reporting capacity in time to hit the ground running in 2026?
We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?
Contact the author:
Related
Latest Stories
Hegseth Brags of a Deadlier War Machine as U.S. Unleashes “Devastating Civilian Harm Globally”
While testifying to Congress on Wednesday, War Secretary Pete Hegseth lobbed threats and brushed off queries about civilian harm.
Mike Johnson Used Crypto Catnip to Get Freedom Caucus Support for Domestic Spy Law
A provision unrelated to domestic spying got the hard-right GOP members on board — but it won’t work in the Senate.
Midterms 2026
ICE Watchers Worry Democrats Are Trying to Co-Opt Their Movements For Votes
Minneapolis activists are accusing a local House candidate of “cosplaying” as a protester, blurring the line between solidarity and opportunism.