Trump says media ‘destroyed themselves’

President Trump stepped up his attack on the press over the holiday weekend, telling an audience of veterans in Washington that the media failed in trying to stop him from achieving his objectives.

“The fact is the press destroyed themselves because they went too far,” Mr. Trump said at an event at the Kennedy Center. “Instead of being subtle and smart, they used the hatchet, and the people saw it right from the beginning.”

Mr. Trump, who has seized on an erroneous story by CNN in the past week to illustrate his point, said the media has been working against him from the start.

“My administration is transferring power outside of Washington and returning it to where it belongs, the people,” the president said. “The fake media is trying to silence us, but we will not let them. The people know the truth. The fake media tried to stop us from going to the White House, but I’m president and they’re not.”

“The dishonest media will not stop us from accomplishing our objectives on behalf of the American people. Their agenda is not your agenda,” he said.

Mr. Trump flew to Washington for the event from Bedminster, New Jersey, where he and his family are spending some of the Independence Day holiday at his golf resort.

The president said he will never stop fighting for the people.

“I am delivering on trade, on the economy, the Supreme Court, on the Second Amendment, on the military and for our veterans and on our borders,” Mr. Trump said.

The crowd responded with chants of “USA!” after the president declared, “In America, we don’t worship government, we worship God.”

Mr. Trump called out several veterans in the audience by name and told retired service members and Wounded Warriors, “You have an entire nation of 300 million people behind you. And our nation’s getting strong again, have you noticed?”

He also emphasized his administration’s dedication to principles of faith in celebrating the nation’s founding.

“Since the signing of the Declaration of Independence 241 years ago, America always affirmed that liberty comes from our creator,” Mr. Trump said. “Our rights are given to us by God, and no earthly force can ever take those rights away.”