President Donald Trump’s media diet famously involves minimal use of the internet. That preference appears to have been at the root of Trump’s outburst directed at the New York Times on Friday morning.
In yet another tweet aimed at the “failing” newspaper, Trump lashed out at a story on the front page of the newspaper’s print edition that said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping had not spoken since November 14.
The story was originally published before it was revealed that Trump had committed to the “One China” policy in a phone call with Xi on Thursday.
“The failing @nytimes does major FAKE NEWS China story saying ‘Mr.Xi has not spoken to Mr. Trump since Nov.14,'” Trump tweeted at 8:35 a.m. Friday. “We spoke at length yesterday!”
But hours before Trump sent out the tweet, the online version of the Times story had been updated to reflect the phone call. In fact, the conversation was noted in the very first paragraph. The print version of the paper some people received also contained an updated story.
Trump is said to get his news in a traditional fashion, mostly through print editions of publications and from television. His prolific use of Twitter notwithstanding, the president has largely shunned the online world.
According to a story in the news and politics website Axios last month, Trump receives hard copies of the Times, New York Post and Wall Street Journal every day, all while diligently scouring cable news.
The story quoted one “top adviser” who noted that Trump never uses a computer, and only uses his phone for calls: “He’s an analog guy.”
Trump himself has said, “I think the computers have complicated lives very greatly. The whole, you know, age of computer has made it where nobody knows exactly what’s going on.”
A White House spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.