This is not the action a strong, secure ruler would take. This signals that they're afraid of what they may ask and how their readers may react. What does this accomplish that ignoring the reporters in question would not?
The president is not a "ruler"
The more he goes on Twitter blaming the FBI and the NYT of leaking fake info, the more true it most likely is.
He didn't fire Flynn because the NYT pulled some random story out of their ass.