After a contentious interview on Tuesday in which Kellyanne Conway, the presidential adviser,
and Jake Tapper of CNN clashed over whether the White House or the news media was more indifferent to facts, the journalist was bracing on Wednesday for a backlash from the right.
In one example cited by Mr. Tapper, Mr. Trump said on Tuesday
that the murder rate was “the highest it’s been in 47 years” and that “the press doesn’t tell it like it is.” The facts: While the rate spiked in 2015, multiple fact-checks found that the murder rate is actually near a 45-year low.
When Ms. Conway suggested that the media had played down some attacks because people had become “inured to terrorist attacks,” Mr. Tapper protested.
“Facts are stubborn things,” Mr. Tapper said, “and to say
that we’re not reporting something that happens not to be true, therefore we’re not to be trusted, that’s a problem.”
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Mr. Trump added to tension with the press by accusing news organizations of playing down or declining to cover terrorist attacks.
The White House on Monday issued a list of what it said were 78 underreported attacks;
but several news organizations, including CNN and , provided evidence to the contrary.