President Donald Trump said in a new interview that he expects to win re-election in 2020 in part because the media needs him to keep their ratings high.

“Another reason that I’m going to win another four years is because newspapers, television, all forms of media will tank if I’m not there because without me, their ratings are going down the tubes,” Trump told The New York Times on Thursday. “Without me, The New York Times will indeed be not the failing New York Times, but the failed New York Times.”

“So they basically have to let me win,” Trump added. “And eventually, probably six months before the election, they’ll be loving me because they’re saying, ‘Please, please, don’t lose Donald Trump.’ O.K.”

Both the NYT and The Washington Post have seen their subscriptions surge during the Trump era, as both establishment media outlets and the president have leaned into a combative relationship.

Media coverage of President Trump has been consistently and overwhelmingly negative throughout 2017. (RELATED: Media Coverage In 2017 Marked By Bombshells That Weren’t)