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 Saturday floated the idea of Twitter dumping major national news publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post as the social media platform removes "fake" accounts.

"Twitter is getting rid of fake accounts at a record pace. Will that include the Failing New York Times and propaganda machine for Amazon, the Washington Post, who constantly quote anonymous sources that, in my opinion, don’t exist," Trump tweeted.

"They will both be out of business in 7 years!"

Twitter is getting rid of fake accounts at a record pace. Will that include the Failing New York Times and propaganda machine for Amazon, the Washington Post, who constantly quote anonymous sources that, in my opinion, don’t exist - They will both be out of business in 7 years! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 7, 2018

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Clifford Levy, a deputy managing editor at the Times who oversees its digital platforms, pushed back on Twitter, pointing to the paper's increased subscriptions during Trump's tenure to note that the publication is "not failing."

The facts: @nytimes has had astonishing growth in subscriptions since Trump’s election.

We now have more than 3.7 million paid subscriptions.

We have subscribers in over 200 countries and territories.#notfailing https://t.co/Tlroc8YBMd — Clifford Levy (@cliffordlevy) July 7, 2018

Twitter has stepped up its efforts to remove accounts on the platform in recent months amid criticism over harassment and fake accounts. The company suspended more than 70 million accounts in May and June, according to a Post report published Friday.

The rate of account suspensions has more than doubled since October as the company faced increased scrutiny over reports about how Russian trolls sought to manipulate the platform during the 2016 presidential election.

Trump has returned in recent days to slamming the news media after condemning a shooting at a newspaper in Annapolis, Md., last month that left five people dead and others wounded. While the attack did not appear to be politically motivated, many urged the president to tone down his jabs against the media in the wake of the shooting.

"I see the way they write. They're so damn dishonest," Trump said during a campaign-style rally in Montana on Thursday night.