David Jackson

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — President Trump escalated his feud with The New York Times on Thursday by suggesting possible changes in libel laws.

"The failing @nytimes has disgraced the media world. Gotten me wrong for two solid years. Change libel laws?" the president said on Twitter.

Trump, who has long complained about all manner of media coverage, ignited the latest battle with a tweet this week falsely saying the Times had apologized for its coverage of last year's presidential election.

The Times instead sent a letter to subscribers saying it had underestimated the depth of Trump's support.

In a reply tweet, The New York Times said: "@realdonaldtrump False, we did not apologize. We stand by our coverage & thank our millions of subscribers for supporting our journalism."

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Trump also threatened to propose changes to libel laws during the campaign, saying it should be easier for individuals to sue media companies.

Critics said Trump's real goal is to undermine press freedoms.

Current libel laws make it extremely difficult for public figures of Trump's stature to win libel suits against news organizations. In the 1964 Supreme Court case New York Times v. Sullivan, the court ruled that L.B. Sullivan, a Montgomery Courty, Ala., commissioner, was not libeled by an advertisement that appeared in the Times.

"We hold today that the Constitution delimits a State's power to award damages for libel in actions brought by public officials against critics of their official conduct," the court wrote in that 1964 ruling.