WASHINGTON – The New York Times on Monday accused President Donald Trump of employing “intimidation tactics” against its journalists following days of criticism from his administration over the newspaper’s reporting on Elon Musk and the Defense Department.
In a statement posted on X, the social media platform owned by Musk, the Times reaffirmed its commitment to holding powerful figures accountable, stating that its journalists, including Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman, maintain an “unrivaled record” of fair and thorough coverage of multiple administrations.
The response followed Trump’s Sunday post on Truth Social, where he singled out Haberman—whose name he misspelled as “Hagerman”—and Baker, along with Baker’s wife, New Yorker writer Susan Glasser. Trump called them “sick, deranged editors” and accused them of working to “rig the election” against him.
Trump has previously criticized media organizations and individual journalists. The Times emphasized that it would not be deterred by such attacks, with spokesman Charles Stadtlander stating that the administration’s goal was to “undermine public confidence in journalists who ask difficult questions and publish uncomfortable truths.”
The newspaper recently published a report alleging that Musk was set to receive a classified military briefing on potential conflicts involving China. The Defense Department refuted the claims, calling the Times a “propaganda machine” and demanding a retraction. The Times defended its reporting, later stating that the briefing was canceled after news of it emerged.
Trump dismissed the report as “fake news” but asserted that Musk should not be given access to such intelligence. Haberman, who has extensively covered Trump, is also the author of the 2022 book *Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America*.
AP
