President Donald Trump attacked the US media at his first solo press conference today, dismissing news outlets as dishonest.
Mr Trump said the US news media serve special interests and people profiting off what he called "a very, very obviously broken system".
"The press has become so dishonest that if we don't talk about it, we are doing a tremendous disservice to the American people," he said.
The republican leader also said the US is facing a host of problems at home and abroad, declaring: "I inherited a mess".
Mr Trump said jobs were leaving the country to Mexico and other places, and mass instability was prevalent overseas.
"To be honest, I inherited a mess. It's a mess. At home and abroad. A mess," he said.
"Low pay, low wages. Mass instability overseas no matter where you look. The Middle East a disaster. North Korea. We'll take care of it, folks. We're going to take care of it all."
He made the remark after presenting Alexander Acosta, a former federal prosecutor from Florida, as his nominee for to lead the Department of Labor.
Acosta was tapped after Mr Trump's first nominee for the post, Andrew Puzder, withdrew under pressure over his business record and other past controversies in his personal life.
Mr Trump denied allegations that members of his election campaign team were in repeated contact with Russian officials, calling it "fake news".
"They know nothing about it. They weren't in Russia. They never made a phone call to Russia. They never received a phone call. It's all fake news," he said.
Mr Trump also defended Michael Flynn, the national security adviser whose resignation he demanded and received this week, saying Flynn did nothing wrong in holding pre-inauguration talks with the Russian ambassador.
"He's doing the job. He was just doing his job," he said.