President-elect Trump rips New York Times on Twitter

President-elect Donald Trump says he’s going to be “very restrained” in his use of Twitter as commander in chief but will reserve the right to use it as a “method” to combat what he perceives as negative stories about him.

“I’m going to be very restrained, if I use it at all,” Trump said in an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” slated to air Sunday night. “I’m not saying I love it, but it does get the word out.”

On Sunday morning, Trump used Twitter to draw attention to the New York Times’ “very poor and highly inaccurate coverage” of his stunning victory over Hillary Clinton in Tuesday’s presidential election.

“Wow, the @nytimes is losing thousands of subscribers because of their very poor and highly inaccurate coverage of the ‘Trump phenomena,’” he wrote. “The @nytimes sent a letter to their subscribers apologizing for their BAD coverage of me. I wonder if it will change – doubt it?”

Trump was referring to a letter Times publisher Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr. and executive editor Dean Baquet sent in an email to subscribers thanking them for their loyalty in the wake of Trump’s win.

“After such an erratic and unpredictable election there are inevitable questions,” the letter read. “Did Donald Trump’s sheer unconventionality lead us and other news outlets to underestimate his support among American voters? What forces and strains in America drove this divisive election and outcome? Most important, how will a president who remains a largely enigmatic figure actually govern when he takes office?”

But the letter did not include any apology.

“We cannot deliver the independent, original journalism for which we are known without the loyalty of our subscribers,” it concluded. “We take this opportunity, on behalf of all Times journalists, to thank you for that loyalty.”

A spokeswoman for the Times said Trump’s tweet about sliding subscriptions was simply inaccurate.

“We’ve seen a surge in new subscriptions, both print and digital,” Eileen Murphy, senior vice president of communications for the Times, wrote in an email to Yahoo News. “And the rate of growth post Election Day has been 4 times better than normal.”

Trump also took issue with the Times’ assertion that he “has suggested that more countries should acquire nuclear weapons.”

In an interview with the Times in March, however, Trump suggested exactly that.

“At some point, we cannot be the policeman of the world,” he said. “And unfortunately, we have a nuclear world now.”

If Trump is going to be restrained as commander in tweet, he hasn’t quite shown it so far.

On Thursday night, Trump returned to his defiant, combative Twitter personality, criticizing anti-Trump protests and accusing the media of inciting them. “Very unfair!” he tweeted.

But on Friday morning, Trump tweeted that he appreciated the demonstrators’ passion for their country, which he said would eventually unite under his presidency.

As Yahoo News’ Colin Campbell noted, speculation has swirled as to what type of social media presence Trump will have once he’s president. For years, the celebrity businessman has tossed out caustic Twitter barbs, sometimes with poor spelling or at odd hours of the day. But in the final days of the campaign, after aides reportedly wrested away his Twitter account, he was relatively reserved.

_____

Related slideshows:

Tens of thousands protest Trump’s election victory >>>

Donald Trump meets with Obama at the White House and visits the Capitol >>>

Protests after Donald Trump’s victory >>>

Newspapers around the world react to Donald Trump’s victory >>>

Tears and cheers as Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton supporters clash at the White House >>>

World reaction to Trump’s stunning victory >>>