Trump brands New York Times '' the enemy of people''

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday termed the popular New York Times newspaper as "the enemy of the people" after it published a report accusing the political leader of using "intimidation, pressure and humiliation" on the machinery of federal law enforcement. In a report published Wednesday, the 168-year-old prestigious daily with a circulation of over 571,000, stated, "An examination by The New York Times reveals the extent of an even more sustained, more secretive assault by Mr Trump on the machinery of federal law enforcement."

It alleged that Trump has been using tactics of "intimidation, pressure and humiliation" on the machinery of federal law enforcement. Reacting to the report, Trump tweeted, "The New York Times reporting is false. They are a true ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!"

However, the daily stood by its story and said it followed all the basic journalist principles. It said it had asked for a comment on the story from the White House, to which they did not respond. According to the NYT report, Trump humiliated his former attorney general Jeff Sessions at every turn.

In another tweet, Trump accused the media of being dishonest. "The Press has never been more dishonest than it is today. Stories are written that have absolutely no basis in fact. The writers don't even call asking for verification...Sadly, I kept many of them in business. In six years, they all go BUST!" he said.

Trump also accused The Washington Post of ignoring the basic journalistic standards. "The Washington Post ignored basic journalistic standards because it wanted to advance its well-known and easily documented biased agenda against President Donald J Trump...Covington student suing WAPO. Go get them Nick. Fake News!" he said.

Nicholas Sandmann, a Covington Catholic High School student, has sued The Washington Post for USD 250 million for reporting about him allegedly confronting a native American in Washington. His attorney in the lawsuit alleged that the newspaper led a "mob of bullies which attacked, vilified and threatened" an innocent 16-year-old.

(With inputs from agencies.)