Trump wonders if COVID-19 genomes gave fake quotes to the NYT in bizarre Saturday outburst

President Donald Trump lashed out at The New York Times on Saturday.

"So now the Fake News The New York Times is tracing the CoronaVirus origins back to Europe, NOT China. This is a first! I wonder where (sic) the Failing New York Times got for this one? Are there any NAMED sources?" Trump wondered.

However, the reporting from The Times was not based on anonymous sources.

"New research indicates that the coronavirus began to circulate in the New York area by mid-February, weeks before the first confirmed case, and that travelers brought in the virus mainly from Europe, not Asia," The Timesreported on Wednesday.

The story cited now research by geneticists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the N.Y.U. Grossman School of Medicine.

"Both teams analyzed genomes from coronaviruses taken from New Yorkers starting in mid-March," the newspaper noted. "The research revealed a previously hidden spread of the virus that might have been detected if aggressive testing programs had been put in place."

Trump appeared bored on Saturday as he went for his second weekend without playing golf.

Trump spent the early evening praising a West Virginia resident for comments made when they called in to C-SPAN and complaining about Fox News -- hours before a Fox News interview.