The flurry of tweets came hours after Trump's vow to be more restrained on social media

Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush and John Kasich were among those to phone him

The newspaper quickly corrected him to say subscriptions were up

He slammed its 'bad' coverage and said it had lost 'thousands' of readers

Donald Trump fired off against his enemies on Sunday in one of his trademark Twitter sprees - hours after vowing to be 'more restrained' on social media.

The President-elect attacked The New York Times for its coverage of him, claiming it had cost them 'thousands of subscribers' since his election win.

In a flurry of tweets on Sunday morning, he slammed the publication for its 'bad, poor and inaccurate' reports. It swiftly responded to say subscriptions were up.

He then singled out three Republicans who had previously been his fiercest critics to thank them for their congratulatory phone calls following his victory - Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush, John Kasich.

It came hours before the airing of a pre-recorded 60 Minutes interview where Trump vowed to be more restrained on social media once he reaches the White House.

Donald Trump used Twitter to both thank some of his most outspoken critics for congratulatory phone calls and attack the New York Times for its coverage of him on Sunday

Trump welcomed former UKIP leader Nigel Farage to Trump Tower on Sunday, posing in a gold-plated elevator with him for a photograph

In his rebuke of the Times, Trump wrote on Sunday: ' Wow, the NY Times is losing thousands of subscribers because of their very poor and highly inaccurate coverage of the "Trump phenomena".'

Some 30 minutes later, he continued: 'The NY Times sent a letter to their subscribers apologizing for their BAD coverage of me. I wonder if it will change? Doubt it.'

Later, he added: 'The NY Times states today that DJT believes "more countries should acquire nuclear weapons." How dishonest are they. I never said this!'.

The newspaper quickly corrected him, responding from its communications Twitter account to inform him subscriptions had increased.

'Fact: surge in new subscriptions, print & digital, with trends, stops & starts, 4 X better than normal,' it said, adding it was 'proud' of its election coverage.

On Friday its publisher Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr sent a letter to subscribers describing how newsroom staff 'turned on a dime' when Trump's victory became clear in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

A separate memo distributed to newsroom staff mapped out its plan to cover his presidency fairly.

' We will chronicle the new administration with a lightning-fast report that features stories told in every medium and on every platform.

'If many Americans no longer seem to understand each other, let's make it out job to interpret and explain,' it said.

The Times led coverage of some of Trump's most plaguing scandals throughout the campaign, first publishing the accusations of women alleging his sexual impropriety at the peak of his unpopularity.

The newspaper quickly corrected the President-elect, responding from its communications account to inform him subscriptions had increased

The New York Times sent a letter to readers on Friday asking for their continued support as it 'rededicated itself' to 'honest' journalism

They were left blindsided by his victory, in the words of former staff, and have since faced claims the did not take seriously enough the Republican's chances of winning.

After his Sunday morning critique of its content, Trump moved on to thank his former Republican party enemies for getting behind him since his win.

'Mitt Romney called to congratulate me on the win. Very nice!' said the first of the public acknowledgements.

'Jeb Bush, George W. and George H.W. all called to express their best wishes on the win,' he continued.

John Kasich also deserved a mention. 'Governor John Kasich, of the GREAT, GREAT GREAT state of Ohio called to congratulate me on the win. The people of Ohio were incredible!' said President-elect Trump.

Ohio played a crucial role in Trump's election triumph, giving him 18 electoral votes. No Republican president has ever won the election without its support.

Democrat presidents John F. Kennedy, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Grover Cleveland are the only presidents to have won the race without it.

Trump said Mitt Romney (left) and Jeb Bush (right), two of his most outspoken Republican party critics, had congratulated him

Former presidents George W. and George H.W. Bush also congratulated him, he said. Neither of them voted for Trump

Romney, Kasich and Bush all publicly slammed Trump during his campaign, condemning his stances on immigration and his comments towards women.

Romney begged Republicans not to put the businessman forward for the party nomination in July, telling them: 'Let me put it plainly, if we Republicans choose Donald Trump as our nominee, the prospects for a safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished.' Romney

Jeb Bush earlier said he had been 'praying' for the President-elect since his election win.

He was among a chorus of other GOP figures who spoke out against Trump in October for his lewd comments about women.

He also described Trump's shifted immigration stance as 'abhorrent' and 'disturbing' in August and said the businessman had begun to 'morph' into the very principles he campaigned against.

John Kasich and Senator Ted Cruz were among a handful of senior party members who controversially refused to endorse Trump at the Republican National Convention.

In an interview with 60 Minutes that will air on Sunday night, Trump vowed to be more restrained on Twitter

Their rejection of him rocked the party and prompted committee chairman Reince Priebus to threaten their expulsion.

After Trump's victory on Tuesday, Kasich urged protesters who took to the streets in revolt against it to accept the election result.

' The people of this country have spoken. There was concern about what would happen if the race was close and would people say it wasn't fair.

'Look it was fair. There's nobody saying it wasn't fair. So now all of us take a deep breath. Now, all Americans take a deep breath,' he told ABC.

George W. and George H.W. Bush neither publicly condemned nor endorsed Trump during his campaign.

New York Times publisher Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr signed a letter to readers which said the newspaper had 'rededicated' itself

Trump's war against the Times was sparked when it published the first of an avalanche of accusations against him by women who said they had been victims of his sexual misconduct at some point over the past 50 years.

The Trumps responded furiously, threatening to sue the publication for peddling what it labeled malicious lies.

In a public back-and-forth, the Times' lawyers fueled the feud by sharing its response to Trump's legal threats.

'It would have been a disservice not just to our readers but to democracy itself to silence their voices. We did what the law allows,' David McCraw, vice president and assistant general counsel of the newspaper, said of the women's claims.

'We published newsworthy information about a subject of deep public concern.

'If Mr Trump disagrees, if he believes that American citizens had no right to hear what these women had to say and that the law of this country forces us and those who dare to criticize him to stand silent or be punished, we welcome the opportunity to have a court set him straight,' it continued.

In the days before the election it maintained its heavy-handed criticism, publishing an article on November 6 depicting him as 'nervous' and laying bare the inner-workings of his team and his 'bottomless need for attention'.

Former newspaper staff said it allowed itself to be blinded from the reality of a Trump win and refused to accept its likelihood until the last minute.

'Because it demonized Trump from start to finish, it failed to realize he was onto something.