Washington: US President Donald Trump slammed The Washington Post on Thursday for "bad reporting" and suggested his own headline for a news report on his administration's decision to impose tariffs on import of some 1,300 Chinese products.
Trump last month directed authorities to level tariffs on about USD 60 billion worth of Chinese imports following the completion of a seven-month probe into the intellectual property theft, which has been a longstanding point of contention in US-China trade relations.
He has been at loggerheads with several US mainstream media outlets, including the CNN, ABC News, The New York Times and the Washington Post among others. He has quite often described these popular media houses as "fake" media.
"The Fake News Washington Post, Amazon's 'chief lobbyist', has another (of many) phony headlines, 'Trump Defiant As China Adds Trade Penalties'," Trump said in a tweet.
The Post is owned by Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.
"WRONG! Should read, 'Trump Defiant as US Adds Trade Penalties, Will End Barriers And Massive IP Theft'. Typically bad reporting!" the President said.
In its news report, The Post said an emboldened President Trump is discovering that the policies he once described as easy fixes for the nation are a lot more complicated in reality creating backlash among allies, frustrating supporters and threatening the pocketbooks of many farming communities that helped get him elected.
"Freed from the caution of former advisers, Trump has spent recent weeks returning to the gut-level basics that got him elected: tough talk on China, a promise of an immigration crackdown and an isolationist approach to national security," the daily said.
According to The Post, several people who have spoken to the President say he is telling advisers that he is finally expediting the policies that got him elected and is more comfortable without a number of aides around him who were tempering his instincts.
"And he often cites rising poll numbers in recent weeks as a reason he should do it his own way, these people said," the daily reported.
The Wall Street Journal said the Trump administration's tit-for-tat with Beijing over potential tariffs has ushered in a high-stake standoff over the future of trade between the the world's two largest economies.
"The combatants will now follow a timeline stretching over the next half year, during which the two sides will seek to negotiate a new normal," the daily reported.
Trump, who initiated tensions over Chinese trade practices, has put himself in a position to face mounting pressure from lawmakers, an intense campaign from corporate lobbyists, and outcry from businesses big and small navigating cumbersome new trade rules -- all of which was feeding tremendous volatility in the stock and commodities markets, The Wall Street Journal said.
The New York Times reported that the White House officials have moved quickly to calm fears of a potential trade war with China, saying the administration's proposed tariffs were a "threat" that would ultimately help, not hurt, the US economy, hours after China said it would punish American products with similar levies.
Behind the scene, according to the daily, top officials remained split over the administration's approach as the US and China move into a period of high-stakes negotiations.
"That includes how far to go in punishing China and the types of concessions the White House should accept to avoid a protracted and damaging trade war," it said.
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