Trump speaks at CPAC; takes aim at what he calls dishonest news reports
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - President Donald Trump took aim at what he calls dishonest news reports on Friday when he took the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday.
"A few days ago I called the fake news the enemy of the people - and they are," Trump said. "They are the enemy of the people because they have no sources. They just make them up when there are none.""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."
"In fact, in covering my comments, the dishonest media did not explain that I called the 'fake' news the enemy of the people." he said. "The 'fake' news. They dropped off the word 'fake' - and all of a sudden the story became the media is the enemy. They take the word 'fake' out."
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Trump even said that it would not be reported that he received a standing ovation when he took the stage at CPAC because no one in the audience sat during his speech.
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," Trump told the Conservative Political Action Committee. "Let there be no more sources."
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 fake news doesn't tell the truth," Trump insisted. "It doesn't represent the people. It will never represent the people and we're going to do something about it."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.