During his speech on Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), President Donald Trump attacked the media yet again, arguing that anonymous sources should not be allowed, and referring to many outlets as “fake.”

Following his remarks, various major media outlets were blocked from attending an informal White House press briefing with Press Secretary Sean Spicer, including CNN, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Politico, BuzzFeed, and many foreign news outlets. The Associated Press and TIME boycotted.

ADVERTISEMENT

Journalist Dan Rather took note on his Facebook, writing, “Another day, another attack by the President of the United States against reputable news organizations … Calling something ‘fake news’, Mr. President, doesn’t make it so, no matter how loud the applause is amongst your acolytes.”

Rather added that the president “seems to believe” Americans aren’t seeing his contestation for what it is: “You are protesting the truth getting out, while not really denying the specifics of the reporting in any convincing way.”

Instead, he explained to the president that the more he protests the media, “the more we will be inclined to dig,” calling reporters “instinctual.” He concluded, “I get the sense that an increasing number of Americans are getting tired of the tirades and immune to the distractions.”