Trump demands apology from New York Times after mental health coverage: 'Have they no shame?'
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump is blasting The New York Times and demanding an apology after one of its top reporters raised eyebrows about his mental state.
The latest flare-up came after Peter Baker, the paper’s chief White House correspondent, questioned Trump’s stability as he pointed to what he described as “erratic behavior and extreme comments.”
“HAVE THEY NO SHAME? HAVE THEY NO SENSE OF DECENCY?” Trump fired off on Truth Social Monday evening.
The President, who once famously dubbed himself a “Very Stable Genius," didn’t directly rebut Baker’s piece. Instead, he pivoted to how the Times has been covering his war in Iran.
Trump blasts The New York Times as ‘FAKE NEWS’
Rather than tackling the mental fitness questions head-on, Trump ranted about skewed reporting about Iran.
“For those people that still read The Failing New York Times and, even though Iran has been totally OBLITERATED, Militarily, and otherwise, you would think that Iran is actually winning or, at the very least, doing quite well,” he wrote.
“But that’s not true, and The New York Times knows that it’s FAKE NEWS! When does this Corrupt Media Outlet apologize for their LIES and horrible actions against me, my supporters, and our Country itself!” he added.
Exactly which story set him off remains unclear.
This isn’t the first time Trump has gone after the paper. In the past, he’s labeled the Times “seditious, perhaps even treasonous” for publishing an op-ed that questioned his health.
Late last year, he erupted again after a report found his activity levels during his first 10 months back in office were significantly lower than during his first term. The analysis was based on official schedules and public records, and concluded his engagements had dropped by nearly 40 percent.
Trump dismissed the findings as fabricated and politically motivated, insisting the outlet cooked the numbers to make him look bad.
He also took a swipe at reporter Katie Rogers, accusing her of being “assigned to only write bad things” about him and branding her “a third-rate reporter who is ugly, both inside and out.”
Mounting backlash from critics and former allies
What makes Baker’s latest piece stand out is the breadth of voices it pulled together.
According to Baker, criticism has come not only from Democrats and long-time Trump critics but also from “retired generals, diplomats and foreign officials,” along with Republicans and “onetime allies of the president.”
Former GOP representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, once one of Trump’s most loyal backers, called his threat to annihilate Iran “insanity.” Conservative commentator Candace Owens labeled him “a genocidal lunatic.”
Ex-White House lawyer Ty Cobb said Trump was “clearly insane.” Former CIA director John Brennan pointed to the 25th Amendment, saying it was designed with people like Trump “in mind.”
On Capitol Hill, at least 87 Democratic lawmakers called on his cabinet to invoke that very amendment, describing the President as “deranged” and “unstable.”
Representative Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, urged the White House physician to conduct a full cognitive evaluation. He warned that Trump appeared “increasingly incoherent, volatile, profane, deranged, and threatening.”
“A series of disjointed, hard-to-follow and sometimes profane statements... have left many with the impression of a deranged autocrat mad with power," Baker wrote in his report.
