Retired four-star U.S. Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey on Friday slammed the White House for directing federal agencies to end their subscriptions to The New York Times and The Washington Post after President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE said he didn’t want either outlet in the White House.

“The White House Trump statement telling the entire Federal Government to terminate subscriptions to the NYT and Wash Post is a watershed moment in national history,” McCaffrey tweeted. “No room for HUMOROUS media coverage. This is deadly serious. This is Mussolini.”

The White House Trump statement telling the entire Federal Government to terminate subscriptions to the NYT and Wash Post is a watershed moment in national history. No room for HUMOROUS media coverage. This is deadly serious. This is Mussolini. — Barry R McCaffrey (@mccaffreyr3) October 25, 2019

The White House said Tuesday that it would cancel subscriptions to both outlets less than a day after Trump told Fox News’s Sean Hannity Sean Patrick HannityFormer Florida attorney general calls Kyle Rittenhouse 'a little boy out there trying to protect his community' Sunday shows preview: Justice Ginsburg dies, sparking partisan battle over vacancy before election Cruz: Trump should nominate a Supreme Court justice next week MORE that “we don’t even want it in the White House anymore” while referring to the Times.

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“We’re going to probably terminate that and The Washington Post. They’re fake,” he said.

McCaffrey also took a jab at Trump on Sunday for attacking former Defense Secretary James Mattis James Norman MattisBiden courts veterans amid fallout from Trump military controversies Trump says he wanted to take out Syria's Assad but Mattis opposed it Gary Cohn: 'I haven't made up my mind' on vote for president in November MORE as “the world’s most overrated general.”

“At the end of the day what we’re seeing is a total breakdown in the national security process,” he said.