The front page of Tuesday’s edition of the New York Times dropped the “L” bomb on President Donald Trump, saying he repeated “an election lie” during a meeting with lawmakers.
The Times and other media outlets reported that Trump, during a summit with Congressional leaders at the White House, insisted that he would have won the popular vote if not for the “millions of people who voted illegally,” a claim he has previously made on Twitter.
There is no evidence for this claim, but when asked about it, White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters on Tuesday that President Trump genuinely believes millions of people voted illegally in the election “based on studies and evidence that have been presented to him.”
Many members of the media and other political observers were thrilled that the Times was brave enough to use the “L” word. Mother Jones celebrated the fact that “The New York Times has called one of President Trump’s lies a lie.”
Front page NYT headline today: "Trump Repeats an Election Lie" pic.twitter.com/i1ydvmrVdY
— Ari Melber (@AriMelber) January 24, 2017
Trump critics on social media congratulated the Times for its bold journalism. “Kudos to the New York Times for finally using the word “Lie” when describing Trump’s pronouncements,” wrote one Twitter user. Another opined: “Brave New York Times calls Trump out! LIE- right in the headline!”
Interestingly enough, as one Internet sleuth discovered, the Times headline was apparently altered to include the word “lie.” The original headline read: “In Meeting With Congressional Leaders, Trump Falsely Blames Illegal Immigrants for Loss of Popular Vote.”
New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet has complained that Trump has been “hugely challenging” for journalists because he “openly lies” so often.
The Washington Post also published a story on the controversy, but with a more cautiously worded headline: “Citing no new evidence, Trump continues to say there were millions of illegal votes.”
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