President Donald Trump defended former national security adviser Gen. Mike Flynn in wake of his resignation, saying "the fake media" treated the retired general "unfairly" in a press conference.
"Michael Flynn, Gen. Flynn is a wonderful man," Trump told reporters in a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "I think he has been treated very, very unfairly by the media. As I call it, the fake media in many cases."
Trump's White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters Tuesday that "The evolving and eroding level of trust as a result of this situation and a series of other questionable instances is what led the president to ask for Gen. Flynn's resignation."
Other aides told The New York Times that Trump might not have asked if the media had not picked up the story. Three unnamed people "close to Mr. Trump" told the Times the president made his decision after seeing a news alert of an upcoming article about Flynn's connections with Russia.
"Yeah, it's time," Trump reportedly said.
In his letter of resignation, according to CNN, Flynn did not admit to deceiving Trump's administration, only he "inadvertently" gave "incomplete information."