President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE on Friday declared that "about 30 percent" of journalists are good people.

Breaking from his prepared remarks at the FBI's National Academy graduation ceremony, Trump joked that many Americans were watching at home through the cameras of the "fake news" media.

"As I look out on the audience today I see many young, bright faces," Trump said. "To them and to many other young Americans watching at home, of which there are many — you see the fake news back there," he added, pointing to the line of news cameras.

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The line drew surprised laughs from the crowd, prompting Trump to repeat "fake news" again over the laughter. Trump turned serious afterward, remarking that some of the assembled journalists were "fine people."

"No, actually, some of them are fine people," he added. "About, let's see who's back there? Yeah, about 30 percent."

Trump then returned to his prepared remarks on the teleprompter.

Trump's White House has frequently feuded with the news media, often over whether members of the national news media have put out false information on purpose for political reasons.

In a combative White House press conference on Monday, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders accused some journalists of "purposely" putting out false information.

“It’s not an honest mistake when you are purposely putting out information that you know to be false or when you're taking information that hasn't been validated, that hasn't been offered any credibility and that has been continually denied by a number of people, including people with direct knowledge of an incident,” Sanders said Monday.