DONALD Trump’s apparent crusade against media outlets shows no sign of slowing, with high-profile magazine Vanity Fair his latest target.

A day after the magazine published a scathing restaurant review of the Trump Grill, the US President-elect predictably launched an attack on Twitter.

“Has anyone looked at the really poor numbers of @VanityFair Magazine,” Mr Trump tweeted on Thursday.

“Way down, big trouble, dead! Graydon Carter, no talent, will be out!” he added, referring to the mag’s highly-respected editor, with whom he has been feuding for decades.

Has anyone looked at the really poor numbers of @VanityFair Magazine. Way down, big trouble, dead! Graydon Carter, no talent, will be out! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2016

Thank you to Time Magazine and Financial Times for naming me "Person of the Year" - a great honor! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2016

Vanity Fair published an article on Wednesday titled, “Trump Grill Could Be the Worst Restaurant in America.”

“The allure of Trump’s restaurant, like the candidate, is that it seems like a cheap version of rich,” the author said, claiming the dumplings were disastrous, the steak overcooked and fatty, and the burger “sad.”

After Mr Trump’s election victory, Mr Carter penned a ruthless comment piece condemning the New Yorker’s business record and history with women.

“Only in America, a nation built on a history of immigration, could a man who married two immigrants — one of whom is alleged to have worked illegally when she first arrived — run on an anti-immigration platform,” Mr Carter wrote.

Their feud is said to date back to the 1980s when Mr Carter was editor of satirical magazine Spy and spent a lot of time ribbing Mr Trump.

In 1988, he famously called the real estate titan a “short-fingered vulgarian” — an insult that apparently bothers the 70-year-old President-elect to this day.

Mr Trump often takes to Twitter to slam critics of his campaign announcements, as well as the “liberal media” which he accuses of running inaccurate and biased coverage of him.

The billionaire businessman’s so-called war on the media began during his presidential campaign, when he blacklisted some outlets and criticised reporters he considered unfair.

After his election victory, he reportedly scolded media big shots during an off-the-record sit-down at Trump Tower.

“It was like a f***ing firing squad,” one source said of the encounter.

While virtually every President-elect has held a press conference within days of the election, Mr Trump has not. His last press conference during the campaign was on July 27, according to CNN.

TRANSPARENCY FEARS OVER CHANGES TO PRESS BRIEFINGS

Reince Priebus, Mr Trump’s pick for chief of staff, said “change is going to happen” with some of the White House’s traditional ways of interacting with the press corps.

The current Republican National Committee chairman told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt the daily press briefing — usually held by the press secretary around 1pm and lasting for about an hour — was changing.

“I think that many things have to change ... even looking at things like the daily White House briefing from the press secretary, I mean, there’s a lot of different ways that things can be done, and I can assure you we’re looking at that,” he said.

The briefing has traditionally been an opportunity for the media to quiz the press secretary on breaking and other news, in line with the cornerstone of democracy that governments are transparent and accountable.

Mr Priebus also talked about another tradition — the assigned seating in the press room, claiming that it started with the Obama administration.

“In the Bush administration, you just took a seat, and I guess there were a couple of people that have had reserved spots,” he said.

White House Correspondents’ Association President Jeff Mason expressed “concern” over the comments, saying there was a “notable factual inaccuracy” in his claim that assigned seating started under Barack Obama.

“News organisations have had assigned seats since those seats were installed in 1981,” he said.

“The WHCA looks forward to meeting with the incoming administration to address questions and concerns on both sides about exactly this sort of issue.”

The White House Correspondents’ Association is deeply concerned by President-elect Donald Trump’s ... https://t.co/xPGOjEu8sc — WHCA (@whca) November 15, 2016

Press briefings have been a fixture of American politics dating back to the presidency of William McKinley, according to the White House Historical Association.

Mr Trump has not yet named a press secretary, although names such as Laura Ingraham, his national campaign spokeswoman Katrina Pierson. and Fox News contributor Monica Crowley are said to be among those being considered, along with Sean Spicer, the spokesman for the Republican National Committee.

TRUMP TAPS CONGRESSMAN FOR INTERIOR DEPARTMENT

Mr Trump has formally announced Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke, a former Navy SEAL commander and a proponent of coal development on federal lands, as his choice for Secretary of the Interior.

If the nomination is confirmed by the US Senate, Zinke, 55, will head the Interior Department, which employs more than 70,000 people across America and oversees more than 20 per cent of federal land, including national parks like Yellowstone and Yosemite.

TRUMP AGAIN REJECTS RUSSIA VOTE HACKING CLAIMS

Mr Trump on Thursday again rejected US intelligence conclusions that Russia manipulated his White House election battle against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton with hacked documents.

Mr Trump took to Twitter to reiterate his dismissal of CIA and FBI reports now widely accepted by politicians from both parties.

“If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House waite [sic] so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost?” he tweeted.

If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2016

Last week, he branded the CIA investigation “ridiculous”, saying: “They have no idea if it’s Russia or China or somebody. It could be somebody sitting in a bed someplace.”

On October 7, the Department of Homeland Security and the Director of National Intelligence said in a stern statement that the Russian government was behind the hacks of US political organisations.

“These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process,” they said.

Since then, uncontested media reports have said that the CIA concluded that the Russians hacked the computers of both the Democratic and Republican parties, and then deliberately leaked out materials embarrassing to the Clinton campaign to tilt the vote toward Mr Trump.

NBC television reported on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was directly involved in the operation. On Thursday, the Kremlin labelled that report “ridiculous nonsense.”

WHITE HOUSE UNLOADS ON TRUMP OVER HACKING

The White House has sharply criticised Mr Trump for his response to allegations of Russian interference in the US election.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Mr Trump should stop attacking the US intelligence community and instead support the Obama-ordered investigation into what occurred.

Mr Trump’s transition team has complained that the White House has suggested he knew during the campaign that Russia was trying to interfere. But Mr Earnest said its “obvious” Mr Trump knew and that it’s a fact.

He also disputed Mr Trump’s claim that he was joking when he encouraged Russia to find Ms Clinton’s emails.

Mr Earnest said nobody in the White House, Congress or the intelligence community found it “funny” that a US adversary was trying to “destabilise our democracy”.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest says President-elect Trump "was obviously aware" that Russia was involved in DNC hack pic.twitter.com/Ca4PQMWHeS — FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) December 15, 2016

LEGEND BLASTS WEST’S MEETING WITH TRUMP

John Legend has slammed his friend Kanye West over his bizarre meeting with Mr Donald Trump last week.

The singer-songwriter said he was “disappointed” in the rapper and believes it was nothing more than a publicity stunt.

“I don’t think it’s impossible to talk to [Donald Trump] about issues, but I won’t be used as a publicity stunt. I think Kanye was a publicity stunt,” Legend told Clique.tv.

“I’m pretty disappointed with Kanye that he says he would have voted for Trump. I think the things he’s promised to do have been very concerning for a lot of people, and for Kanye to support that message is very disappointing.”