On Friday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Hardball,” Washington Post Associate Editor Bob Woodward stated the press “shouldn’t whine, and if we sound like we are an interest group only concerned with ourselves, it doesn’t work with the public. At the same time, we need to continue the in-depth inquiries, the investigations.” He further argued it’s not in the interest of either the Trump White House or the media to war with each other.

Woodward said, “Well, first of all, I think Glenn [Thrush] makes a really good point, and that is, we shouldn’t whine, and if we sound like we are an interest group only concerned with ourselves, it doesn’t work with the public. At the same time, we need to continue the in-depth inquiries, the investigations. I think everyone has accelerated this work. The other question to ask, is there any justification for Trump and people like — in his White House responding this way? And the only justification I can think of, which really isn’t a justification, but it accounts for emotional spasm of, my God, this is enemy of the people, I know that reporters have talked to people in the Trump house, — Trump White House about very sensitive intelligence operations, that we find out about in the press. And I think Trump is horrified that this is out there. And these are not necessarily things that are going to be published, but Trump is a newcomer saying, my God how do reporters know about these things? And so it’s — we’ve got to stop it.”

Woodward later pushed back against Trump’s accusations about the press making up sources, and added, “[I]t’s not in our interest, the media’s interest to have a war with the Trump White House. It’s not in Trump’s interest to have this war.”

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