On Monday, The New York Times strongly criticized what it characterized as intimidation efforts by former President Donald Trump targeted at its journalists. This tension arose from the administration’s continuous criticism of the newspaper’s coverage regarding Elon Musk and the Department of Defense.
The New York Times released a statement via the social media platform X, affirming their commitment to maintaining accountability for powerful figures, irrespective of their political affiliation. They emphasized that prominent reporters, including Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman, have consistently delivered comprehensive and impartial reporting on both current and previous administrations.
Trump previously took to Truth Social, where he directly called out the Times’ reporters, including Haberman, even misspelling her name as “Hagerman.” Susan Glasser, a writer for The New Yorker and wife of Baker, was also mentioned. Trump accused them of participating in efforts to allegedly rig the election against him and lambasted them and their editors.
Although Trump’s critiques of the media and specific journalists are not rare, The New York Times considered a response necessary. The newspaper’s spokesperson, Charles Stadtlander, emphasized the importance of remembering the administration’s apparent objective to suppress press freedom. He suggested that the intentions are to hinder journalists from exposing significant information that might be inconvenient for the president and to erode public trust in journalists.
Trump also lambasted Baker for what he labeled as numerous lengthy and monotonous articles against him. Haberman, one of the contributors to a report released last Thursday, reported that Musk was poised to receive a briefing on classified military operations concerning a potential conflict with China. Such a revelation raised concerns about a conflict of interest due to Musk’s financial ties with China amid his collaboration with the government on cost-reduction strategies.
The Department of Defense rebuked the report, labeling The Times as a “propaganda machine” and pressed for a retraction of the claims. However, the publication defended its coverage, stating that the meeting in question was canceled following their disclosure of the impending briefing. Trump, while also dismissing the report as “fake,” expressed opposition to Musk receiving such information.
Haberman is also noted as the author of the book “Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America,” published in 2022.