WH Adviser Navarro Gets Testy With Chuck Todd, Calls Washington Post ‘Fake News Most of the Time’

At the tail end of his interview this morning, Chuck Todd asked White House trade advisor Peter Navarro about reports of internal White House turmoil.

The Washington Post reported yesterday on the diminishing influence of John Kelly in the West Wing, and on Meet the Press today Todd directly asked Navarro, “Does John Kelly still have the President’s confidence?”

He brought up the WaPo report, particularly an excerpt regarding apparent threats Kelly made to resign.

“Every day of his adult life,” Navarro responded, “John Kelly’s gotten up in the morning to serve America. He’s a great man, a courageous man––he serves the President, he has the President’s ear, he runs the West Wing well. That’s all I know, that’s all I see.”

He said Kelly still has the President’s confidence, and then added, “When you read stuff in the Washington Post, frankly, that’s fake news most of the time.”

Todd told Navarro that’s a “pretty unfair” comment to make, adding, “That’s a cheap shot.”

“Mr. Todd,” Navarro shot back, “that is not a cheap shot. Because if you look at the newspapers that I read every day across the spectrum, the Washington Post––in my judgment––tends to attack the President more than any other newspaper in its news stories. You can do anything you want in your editorials, sir, but you cannot do that in your news stories.”

Earlier this morning, the President lashed out at WaPo for the same report:

The Washington Post is far more fiction than fact. Story after story is made up garbage – more like a poorly written novel than good reporting. Always quoting sources (not names), many of which don’t exist. Story on John Kelly isn’t true, just another hit job!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2018

Watch above, via NBC.

[image via screengrab]

— —

Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!