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| © Getty Images White House pushes back against report on Trump's cellphone use |
By Brett Samuels, The Hill
The White House on Thursday night pushed back against a New York Times report from the day before that said President Trump's use of iPhones made his calls susceptible to Russian and Chinese spies.
White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement that The Times story "presented inaccurate information" about Trump's phone usage, and insisted that the president has one official government iPhone.
"This phone security follows industry best practices and is closely managed under government supervision in conjunction with recommendations from industry partners," Gidley said. "The phone is rotated on a regular basis and is constantly monitored for any security vulnerabilities and attacks, in accordance with recommendations from the intelligence community."
The White House sought to swat away reports that the president uses cellphone ill-equipped to guard against potential outside surveillance or hacking.
But the statement did not specifically refute New York Times reporting that Trump makes calls on his cellphone rather than a White House landline, or that aides have warned him doing so has opened opened the door to eavesdroppers from Russia and China who could gather information to use against the president.
The news outlet reported that the president has two official iPhones, which have been fitted by the National Security Agency to limit their capabilities and potential exposure to outside parties, as well as a third personal phone he uses to retain old contacts.
Trump addressed the report in a pair of tweets Thursday morning, where he dismissed the piece as "long and boring," but acknowledged that he does use a cellphone from time to time.
"The New York Times has a new Fake Story that now the Russians and Chinese (glad they finally added China) are listening to all of my calls on cellphones," Trump tweeted.
"Except that I rarely use a cellphone, & when I do it's government authorized," he added. "I like Hard Lines. Just more made up Fake News!"
The New York Times said in response to Trump's criticism that it is "confident in the accuracy of our reporting."
Multiple news outlets noted Thursday that internet archives show many of Trump's tweets are sent from an iPhone.
Politico reported in May that the president's cellphone was not equipped with the requisite security features to protect his communications from potential hackers.
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