The Washington Post is no friend of President Donald Trump and his ilk.
The paper published an article, "Trump's Lost Summer," at the beginning of this month. Today, Trump's latest press secretary Stephanie Grisham attempted to rebut the piece in an op-ed called "The Washington Post's Lost Summer."
The President's middle son, Eric Trump also tried to pile on the Washington Post, shaming its "tactics" using a screenshot of an email sent by Post reporter David Fahrenthold. The attempt backfired completely.
Why?
Because the tactics Eric was condemning were standard journalism.
Fahrenthold writes in the email:
"I'm very sorry to bother. I'm a reporter for the Washington Post, and I cover the Trump Organization as a business. As part of that, I try to make sure every Trump Org employee has my contact information. You know the company so much better than I ever could. I'd like your help to make sure I don't miss something important."
The email is a standard journalistic letter for reaching out to a source: he explains why he's reaching out and provides his contact information, he assures that the source's information could be kept confidential, and he lets the potential source know where to send confidential documents anonymously.
At no point does Fahrendthold ask for incriminating or negative information (he says he doesn't want to miss "something important"). At no point does he promise money or rewards for an incriminating story. At no point does he pressure, bully, or blackmail the potential source.
He simply says to reach out if there's important information, then explains how to reach out.
A number of journalists came to Fahrenthold's defense, and roasted Eric for his lack of awareness.
Other journalists and non-journalists alike continued to roast Trump for this ultimate self-own.
Fahrenthold has yet to respond.
You can purchase David Fahrenthold's Uncovering Trump: The Truth Behind Donald Trump's Charitable Giving on Amazon here.
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