[730] In 2018, journalist Lesley Stahl recounted Trump's saying he intentionally demeaned and discredited the media "so when you write negative stories about me no one will believe you".[731]
As president, Trump privately and publicly mused about revoking the press credentials of journalists he viewed as critical.[732] His administration moved to revoke the press passes of two White House reporters, which were restored by the courts.[733] In 2019, a member of the foreign press reported many of the same concerns as those of media in the U.S., expressing concern that a normalization process by reporters and media results in an inaccurate characterization of Trump.[734] The Trump White House held about a hundred formal press briefings in 2017, declining by half during 2018 and to two in 2019.[733]
Trump also deployed the legal system to intimidate the press.[735] In early 2020, the Trump campaign sued The New York Times, The Washington Post, and CNN for defamation in opinion pieces about Russian election interference.[736][737] Legal experts said that the lawsuits lacked merit and were not likely to succeed.[735][738] By March 2021, the lawsuits against The New York Times and CNN had been dismissed.