The New York Times on Monday once again labeled President Donald Trump as a liar in a headline on its front page and on its website, even though its executive editor has pointed out in interviews that the word "lie" isn't one that's taken lightly.
The headline, "Trump Repeats Lie About Popular Vote in Meeting With Lawmakers," accompanied a story about the president's meeting with congressional leaders, with The Times declaring that he used the event to "falsely claim" he lost the popular vote because of millions of undocumented immigrants.
Axios, which pointed out the headline, notes that the newspaper hesitates to say if a politician lies, but noted The Times also accused Trump of lying in September, with a story headlined "Donald Trump Clung to 'Birther' Lie for Years, and Still Isn't Apologetic."
Executive Editor Dean Baquet told NPR last month, following the birther headline, that he had not only authorized, but "pushed for use to use lie" when it came to the birther controversy.
"A lie implies that it was done with complete, total knowledge that it was a falsehood and that the person pushed it despite all evidence against," Baquet said.
"I think what Donald Trump pushed about President Barack Obama not having been born in the United States was a lie. And I think there's no question he knew it was a lie."
The word "lie," he continued, implies "intent and longstanding intent, not just intent as of yesterday but intent over a long period of time."
Baquet said he's careful with the word, as it has "powerful implications," and at the time of the interview said he'd be careful about using it — but a few months later, the word, in relation with Trump, popped up on Monday.
The Times' editorial board also accused Trump of lying in a December opinion piece, "Truth and Lies in the Age of Trump," accusing the then-incoming president of "lying so often and so brazenly that millions of people give up on trying to distinguish truth from falsehood," including on the voting and birther matters.
According to The Washington Post, there have been many other publications and websites calling Trump out as a liar, suggesting that "what was taboo barely a year ago is now standard." Some of those outlets include The Guardian, Politico, NBC, Vanity Fair, Forbes, and more.
Wall Street Journal Editor Gerard Baker, though, has said his newspaper will not call Trump a liar, as doing so would imply "moral intent" and make the publication look biased.