President Donald Trump blasted the use of anonymous sources by news organizations, a familiar refrain for the president, and also slammed "fake books" written about his administration. | Alex Wong/Getty Images Trump bashes CNN, NBC media executives

President Donald Trump lashed out Thursday morning at top media executives from NBC and CNN, continuing his tirade against media coverage that he considers unfair from outlets he has labeled "fake news."

"The hatred and extreme bias of me by @CNN has clouded their thinking and made them unable to function. But actually, as I have always said, this has been going on for a long time. Little Jeff Z has done a terrible job, his ratings suck, & AT&T should fire him to save credibility!" Trump wrote on Twitter, referring to CNN chief Jeff Zucker.


The relationship between Trump and Zucker dates back to the former's time as host of "The Apprentice," the hit reality TV show on NBC, which Zucker once ran. Their relationship has turned frosty since Trump's emergence on the political stage, with the president regularly bashing CNN, the network for which he seems to hold special disdain.

Trump went on Thursday morning to attack NBC News, suggesting without evidence that an interview he sat for with "NBC Nightly News" anchor Lester Holt had been doctored, an alleged infraction for which NBC News chairman Andrew Lack will be fired, Trump predicted.

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"What’s going on at @CNN is happening, to different degrees, at other networks - with @NBCNews being the worst. The good news is that Andy Lack(y) is about to be fired(?) for incompetence, and much worse. When Lester Holt got caught fudging my tape on Russia, they were hurt badly!" Trump wrote on Twitter.

Trump's interview with Holt, in which he admitted he fired former FBI Director James Comey over the bureau's investigation into allegations of collusion between the Russian government and the 2016 Trump campaign, has been a sore spot for Trump. That Russia investigation, now led by special counsel Robert Mueller, is believed to be probing obstruction of justice allegations against the president focused in part on his decision to fire Comey.

Trump has since claimed his decision to fire Comey had nothing to do with the Russia investigation, contradicting what he told Holt in an interview days after Comey's dismissal.

In a third Thursday morning tweet, Trump blasted the use of anonymous sources by news organizations, a familiar refrain for the president, and also slammed "fake books" written about his administration. Such books, including some written by former members of the administration, have proven to be especially incendiary and damaging to the president even as their credibility, in some cases, have been called into question.

"I just cannot state strongly enough how totally dishonest much of the Media is. Truth doesn’t matter to them, they only have their hatred & agenda. This includes fake books, which come out about me all the time, always anonymous sources, and are pure fiction. Enemy of the People!" Trump wrote online.