"The Fake News Media is going CRAZY! They are totally unhinged and in many ways, after witnessing first hand the damage they do to so many innocent and decent people, I enjoy watching," President Donald Trump said in a tweet. | Mark Wilson/Getty Images Trump blasts media as 'unhinged' and 'crazy'

President Donald Trump blasted the media as "unhinged" and "crazy" on Tuesday morning, adding that news organizations ruin the lives of "innocent" people as he continues his long-running battle with the fourth estate.

"The Fake News Media is going CRAZY! They are totally unhinged and in many ways, after witnessing first hand the damage they do to so many innocent and decent people, I enjoy watching," Trump said in a tweet. "In 7 years, when I am no longer in office, their ratings will dry up and they will be gone!"


Trump's comments come after a spat with A.G. Sulzberger, publisher of The New York Times. The pair held an off-the-record meeting to discuss Trump's “deeply troubling anti-press rhetoric," Sulzberger told the Times. After Trump broke their agreement by discussing the content of the meeting on Twitter, the newspaper publisher came forward with his own account of their talk.

And as the president's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort heads to trial as part of a federal investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, Trump is gearing up for coverage of new developments in the investigation.

He shifted his messaging on Tuesday morning, saying that although there was no collusion between his campaign and Russian actors, collusion is not a crime in the first place.

The president has consistently criticized what he calls "fake news," singling out CNN, NBC News, The Washington Post and The New York Times, among others, for coverage he deems unfair.

