Donald Trump Lashes Out At New York Times Over Elon Musk Report, Again Targets CNN And MSNBC

Donald Trump lashed out at The New York Times over its report that Elon Musk would be briefed on classified U.S. plans if war should break out with China.

Musk did visit the Pentagon today, but Trump and other officials denied the report. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said that “Elon wouldn’t do it. He wouldn’t want to put himself in that position.”

Musk has substantial business interests in China, and the Times report raised further alarm over his influence and potential conflicts of interest in the administration.

“They have fake sources or they don’t have sources. I think they make most of it up,” Trump said of the Times. He also called them the “enemy of the people.”

A Times spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment. But the Times has not backed away from its reporting. In its story posted on Thursday, with five bylines, it quoted two unnamed U.S. officials on the plans to brief Musk on the war plans. It noted its initial response from Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, who told them, “The Defense Department is excited to welcome Elon Musk to the Pentagon on Friday. He was invited by Secretary Hegseth and is just visiting.” About an hour later, according to the Times, Parnell posted on X that the story was “100% fake news.”

The Wall Street Journal later reported that Musk would be briefed on the war plans, and updated its story to reflect Trump’s assertion that he would not. But the Journal also stuck by its story that Musk was to receive a top secret briefing.

On X, Musk called the Times “pure propaganda,” and wrote, “I look forward to the prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information to NYT.”

In the Oval Office, Trump extended his media attacks to CNN and MSNBC, as he has done before.

“We have made such big strides over the past two months, and we just need honest journalism, and we don’t have it,” Trump said. He claimed that CNN and MSNBC were “both doing horribly in the ratings. I think they are going to be turned off.” Last week, Trump called CNN and MSNBC “illegal” for reporting negatively about him.