The quoting of unnamed sources has been a problem for Donald Trump since he’s taken office. His administration is known to have a number of leakers who share information with the press. And, of course, the current impeachment inquiry was started after information the was reported anonymously.
The President took to his Twitter account this morning to decry the practice of using anonymous sources. Many reporters, though, called out Trump for hypocrisy as he has been known to quote unnamed souces in the past.
This morning, Trump tweeted, “Do not believe any article or story you read or see that uses “anonymous sources” having to do with trade or any other subject. Only accept information if it has an actual living name on it. The Fake News Media makes up many “sources say” stories. Do not believe them!”
Reporters were quick to respond to the President’s message. Vox’s Aaron Rupar wrote, “John Barron and David Dennison could not be immediately reached for comment.”
John Barron and David Dennison could not be immediately reached for comment https://t.co/1ff9ozTGdV
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 6, 2019
Trump allegedly used the names John Barron and David Dennison to provide favorable information about himself to news sources like Forbes and The New York Daily News.
A number of other reporters pointed out that Trump used anonymous sources to promote his birther conspiracy theory. Occupy Democrats’ Brian Taylor Cohen pointed out a tweet where Trump wrote, “An ‘extremely credible source’ has called my office and told me that Barack Obama’s birth certificate is a fraud.”
But I’m assuming “extremely credible sources” are still okay. pic.twitter.com/dMM5kAjjjM
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) December 6, 2019
A number of other tweeters took Trump to task for often quoting “many people” without revealing who they are.