"I never watch Don Lemon, who I once called the 'dumbest man on television!' Bad Reporting," President Donald Trump tweeted. | Alex Brandon/AP Trump disputes New York Times report he watches hours of TV each day

President Donald Trump on Monday disputed a New York Times report that he watches hours of cable news programming as part of his daily routine, and he bashed CNN and MSNBC for good measure.

"Another false story, this time in the Failing @nytimes, that I watch 4-8 hours of television a day — Wrong! Also, I seldom, if ever, watch CNN or MSNBC, both of which I consider Fake News," Trump tweeted.


The Times on Saturday reported that the president consumes "long spells of cable news," including the big three cable news networks — CNN, MSNBC and Fox News — to get caught up on news, to hone his message and to rev himself up for a day of political jousting.

Trump, the Times reported, often "flips to CNN for news, moves to 'Fox & Friends' for comfort and messaging ideas, and sometimes watches MSNBC’s 'Morning Joe' because, friends suspect, it fires him up for the day." The president "spends at least four hours a day, and sometimes as much as twice that, in front of a television," according to the report.

Times deputy managing editor Clifford Levy defended the newspaper's reporting.

"We stand by our reporting, sourced from interviews with 60 advisers, associates, friends and members of Congress," he wrote on Twitter.

The president, who has been sharply critical of CNN and other news outlets throughout his political career, also disputed that he “hate-watches” CNN anchor Don Lemon's show to "get worked up," as the Times reported, taking a shot at the late-night newscaster.

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"I never watch Don Lemon, who I once called the 'dumbest man on television!' Bad Reporting," he tweeted.

CNN responded to Trump's verbal attack on Lemon by calling it "sad" to see the president engaging in bullying behavior.

"In a world where bullies torment kids on social media to devastating effect on a regular basis with insults and name calling, it is sad to see our president engaging in the very same behavior himself," a network spokesperson said in a statement Monday. "Leaders should lead by example."

It was not the first time Trump took aim at Lemon. Last September, Trump taunted CNN over their ratings, dubbing the network the "Clinton News Network" after his campaign opponent Hillary Clinton and bashing Lemon for his reporting.

"With people like @donlemon, who could expect any more?" Trump wrote on Twitter.

Trump has been particularly critical of reporters lately, slamming the media over the weekend for a series of recent journalistic mistakes that he called "a stain on America!" Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Monday accused the press of seeking to misinform the public.

“There’s a very big difference between making honest mistakes and purposely misleading the America people,” Sanders said.

Pressed to provide an example, Sanders cited an ABC News report by Brian Ross on former national security adviser Michael Flynn's contacts with Russian officials. Ross was suspended after he erroneously reported that Trump as a candidate had directed Flynn to communicate with the Russians. There was no indication, however, that Ross intentionally reported incorrect information.

The report, which drew widespread backlash, prompted a correction from the outlet.

Sanders also defended the president's call for Washington Post reporter Dave Weigel to be fired over a Twitter post in which he questioned the size of the crowd attending Trump's Friday night rally in Florida. Weigel deleted and apologized for the post, which was based on a photo taken before the rally got underway, not while Trump spoke.

“The president’s simply calling out a very direct and false accusation lodged against him,” Sanders said.

