Donald Trump tweets about his TV ratings again today. Calls WSJ "fake news" because they didn't mention his ratings in an editorial.

President Trump on Thursday blasted The Wall Street Journal for an editorial criticizing the daily White House press briefings, complaining that the news outlet failed to give proper attention to the number of viewers they attract.

"The Wall Street Journal always 'forgets' to mention that the ratings for the White House Press Briefings are 'through the roof,'" Trump tweeted, referencing a New York Times piece that recently compared the number of viewers to "Monday Night Football" or "The Bachelor."

The president asserted that the briefings were the "only way for me to escape the Fake News & get my views across. WSJ is Fake News!"

In an opinion piece published Wednesday night titled "Trump’s Wasted Briefings," the Journal's editorial board bemoaned that the daily press conferences ostensibly intended to focus on the latest news surrounding the coronavirus had become "more about the many feuds of Donald J. Trump."

The editorial board wrote that Trump's frequent attacks on the press, governors and his critics during the briefing were "off-key" given the severity of the pandemic, which has killed thousands of people in the U.S.

The board urged Trump to cede center stage at the briefings to Vice President Pence and top health officials, who have regularly appeared at the briefings but have primarily waited to provide updates until the president delivers his own remarks.

Trump's tweet Thursday — which marked a rare shot from the president at the Rupert Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal — highlighted the president's fixation on how his briefings are playing in the media. He frequently boasts about their popularity, and White House officials have complained about networks that do not air them in their entirety.

[link to thehill.com (secure)]