President-elect Donald Trump has told a meeting with top executives, columnists and reporters from The New York Times that they would be "happy" with his commitment to free speech, amid concerns about his criticism of the media during the campaign and ongoing attacks on the paper.
"I think you'll be happy," Trump told the gathering, according to a tweet from one of the reporters who was there, Maggie Haberman.
Earlier in the day, Trump tweeted that he was cancelling the meeting because the ground rules for it had changed "at the last moment." He complained that the publication continues to "cover me inaccurately and with a nasty tone" and called the Times "failing." But a couple hours later, he announced that the meeting was back on.
A Times spokeswoman said that they did not change the ground rules, but that Trump's team had sought to make the entire gathering off the record, "which we refused to agree to." Instead, they stuck to the original plan for a small off the record session followed by a larger gathering with staffers.
At the on-the-record session, Trump complained about the way he had been covered but also acknowledged the need for a reset.
"I have great respect for the New York Times. I have tremendous respect. I think I have been treated very rough," he said at the gathering according to other tweets. He said that he would like to improve his relationship with the Times because "it would make the job I am doing much easier."
On Monday, at Trump tower, he met with network anchors, news executives and correspondents and berated them for their coverage, according to sources. That session was off the record.
