Axios hit back Wednesday after President Donald Trump hammered the news website for the third time Tuesday about its report on him suggesting that nuclear bombs be used to stop hurricanes from reaching the U.S.
"We stand solidly behind our reporting," said Axios CEO and co-founder Jim VandeHei. "Before publishing, we gave the White House full visibility on the key details of our story, and more than nine hours to deny or push back against our reporting."
Late Tuesday, Trump said, in a third tweet: "Axios (whatever that is?) sat back and said: GEEEEE, let's see, what can we make up today to embarrass the president? Then they said, 'Why don't we say he wants to bomb a hurricane, that should do it!"
"The media in our country is totally out of control!" the president said.
President Trump also ripped Axios in tweets on Monday and earlier Tuesday.
But Axios, founded in 2016 by VandeHei and two other top Politico staffers, fiercely defended Jonathan Swan's reporting on the issue.
"The article is meticulously sourced," VandeHei said. "Since we published, additional sources have corroborated our account.
"The president made these comments in at least two separate meetings during his first 14 months in office," he continued. "And on at least one occasion, they were memorialized in a National Security Council memo.
"We go out of our way to cover Trump clinically, without emotion or bias."
VandeHei added that "we go the extra mile in all our stories to never throw sucker punches, and always give the Trump White House precise details of our reporting in advance, and ample time to respond."
Further, "we have found Trump officials accessible, even when we report things they want kept secret.
"We will continue this approach," VandeHei concluded, "because we think it best serves all of you."
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