The remarkable inconsistency of Trump’s attacks on the media

President Donald Trump just can't get his story straight.

At the Conservative Political Action Conference, he accused the news media of widespread fabrication, claiming without evidence that “they have no sources; they just make 'em up when there are none.” The charge is wholly incompatible with his assertions, at other times (or on the same day), that U.S. intelligence officials are leaking classified information to reporters — and must be ferreted out. Which is it? Are the unidentified intelligence sources cited in reports by The Washington Post, the New York Times, CNN and others invented by “dishonest” journalists? Or are they real people, providing real information, who need to be stopped? Both of the president's claims cannot be true.

It seems clear which one President Trump actually believes: He speaks and tweets so frequently about plugging leaks that his consternation appears genuine.