WASHINGTON — President Trump — under pressure to cut back on 140-character cannonades — shot back Tuesday morning with two tweets defending his use of social media and slamming “fake” news organizations for trying to deny him his political sword and shield.

“The FAKE MSM is working so hard trying to get me not to use Social Media,” he wrote at 7:58 a.m., turning his sights on the mainstream media after two warm-up tweets linking to “Fox & Friends” clips. “They hate that I can get the honest and unfiltered message out.”

Seventeen minutes later, Mr. Trump — who will meet with congressional Republicans on Tuesday to brief them on last month’s overseas trip — tweeted again. “Sorry folks, but if I would have relied on the Fake News of CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, washpost or nytimes, I would have had ZERO chance winning WH,” he wrote.

Even though the mainstream media was the target of his Tuesday morning ire, it is Mr. Trump’s own team that has been pointedly critical of his tweeting habits, with members of his legal, communications and political staffs urging him to cut back on self-expression in the interest of political self-preservation.