US President Donald Trump further escalated his attacks on the news media on Friday when he tweeted that outlets such as the New York Times, NBC, ABC, CBS and CNN are not his enemy but “the enemy of the American People.”

Although Trump has long colorfully criticized news coverage and sparred with reporters who question him, he had not yet labeled the fourth estate as being an enemy of the country, reported Washington Post.

On the campaign trail, some of Trump's supporters would heckle and threaten reporters who covered his rallies, and his tweet Friday came 24 hours before his first political rally as president.

The media has been credited with breaking stories about Trump's administration that have prompted action this week, including the resignation of his national security adviser Monday and his nominee for labor secretary withdrawing from consideration Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the president has accused the press of distorting facts and berated it for not painting a rosy portrait of the country under his leadership.

At a news conference at the White House on Thursday, Trump uttered the words “fake news” seven times.

“Much of the media in Washington, D.C. — along with New York, Los Angeles, in particular — speaks not for the people but for the special interests and for those profiting off a very, very obviously broken system,” Trump said early in the news conference, which lasted over an hour and 15 minutes.

“The press has become so dishonest that if we don't talk about, we are doing a tremendous disservice to the American people. Tremendous disservice. We have to talk to find out what's going on, because the press honestly is out of control. The level of dishonesty is out of control,” he stated.

Thursday night, the Republican Party and Trump's campaign websites posted a 25-question “Mainstream Media Accountability Survey.”

The survey formalized Trump's attacks and his insinuation that media outlets are working against the American people. It's unclear what, if anything, the data will be used for, and participants are required to give their name, email address and Zip code.