White House vows to fight media 'tooth and nail' over Trump attacks

US President Donald Trump stands behinds Chief of Staff Reince Priebus after a swearing-in ceremony for senior staff at the White House in Washington, DC January 22, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

Conway responded to criticism that the new administration was focusing on crowds rather than on significant domestic and foreign policy issues by saying, "We feel compelled to go out and clear the air and put alternative facts out there."

Priebus and Conway focused on a press pool report that said the bust of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr had been removed from the Oval Office after Trump took office. The report on Friday night was quickly corrected, but Trump called out the reporter by name during a visit to the Central Intelligence Agency on Saturday. Spicer also berated the reporter later in the day.

RUSSIAN SHADOWS

With the Nov. 8 election results shadowed by US intelligence reports of Russian meddling on his behalf, Trump has bristled at reports suggesting his popular support is soft and that the election was not legitimate.

Trump, who lost the popular vote to Democrat Hillary Clinton by nearly 3 million votes, made no mention of Russia in his first visit to the CIA on Saturday. He praised his nominee to head the agency, Mike Pompeo, and ranted against the "dishonest" media, a favorite target during his presidential campaign.

The president accused the media of fabricating his tensions with the US intelligence community, despite his frequent posts on Twitter that derided the agencies.

Trump drew criticism from Democrats as well as former CIA Director John Brennan for his remarks at the agency, where he spoke before a memorial wall with stars representing personnel killed in action.

"President Trump ought to realize he's not campaigning anymore. He's president," Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on ABC's "This Week."

"Instead of talking about how many people showed up at his inauguration, he ought to be talking about how many people are going to stay in the middle class and move into the middle class."