President Trump even complains about 'fake news' in private conversations

(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

published 9 February 2017

President Trump isn't the type of man who leaves work at the office. After the president retires to the White House's private quarters around 6:30 p.m., The Associated Press reported that he likes to talk on the telephone, watch television news, and, at times, vent to people on the phone about the "fake news" he's watching on TV:

The president's advisers have tried to curb his cable news consumption during the workday. But there are no limits when the president returns to the residence. During another recent telephone conversation, Trump briefly put down the phone so he could turn up the volume on a CNN report. When he returned to the call, he was complaining about "fake news." [The Associated Press]

Trump has seemingly reframed the term "fake news," which initially referred to entirely fabricated stories, as a way to discuss news stories he doesn't agree with or like. On Monday, for instance, Trump tweeted that "any negative polls are fake news, just like the CNN, ABC, NBC polls in the election."

Aside from fake news, the other topic Trump can't seem to get off his mind when he winds down from his day in the Oval Office is his next presidential campaign. During another "late night discussion," Trump was apparently overheard talking about running for office in 2020. The Associated Press noted that when "an associate suggested he was weakening Democrats by usurping some of the party's best policy ideas, the president readily agreed."