Trump: ‘Dishonest’ to say I called all media ‘enemy of the people’
President Trump on Monday evening tweeted that it is “dishonest” to say he called all media “the enemy of the people,” pointing out that he frequently differentiates between the “fake news” and “media” in general.
He called out CNN specifically in the tweet, days after one of his supporters mailed a crude pipe bomb to CNN’s offices in New York City.
“CNN and others in the Fake News Business keep purposely and inaccurately reporting that I said the ‘Media is the Enemy of the People,'” Trump tweeted. “Wrong! I said that the ‘Fake News (Media) is the Enemy of the People,’ a very big difference. When you give out false information – not good!”
“Check out tweets from last two days,” he added. “I refer to Fake News Media when mentioning Enemy of the People – but dishonest reporters use only the word ‘Media.’ The people of our Great Country are angry and disillusioned at receiving so much Fake News. They get it, and fully understand!”
CNN and others in the Fake News Business keep purposely and inaccurately reporting that I said the “Media is the Enemy of the People.” Wrong! I said that the “Fake News (Media) is the Enemy of the People,” a very big difference. When you give out false information – not good!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 30, 2018
Check out tweets from last two days. I refer to Fake News Media when mentioning Enemy of the People – but dishonest reporters use only the word “Media.” The people of our Great Country are angry and disillusioned at receiving so much Fake News. They get it, and fully understand!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 30, 2018
Trump has faced widespread criticism for a Monday tweet in which he referred to “Fake News Media” as “the true Enemy of the People” in the wake of a violent week that saw a spate of over a dozen bombs mailed, including one to CNN, and a shooting that killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue.
The suspected mail-bomber was an ardent Trump supporter who has been pictured holding a “CNN sucks” sign and had anti-CNN, anti-Democrat stickers on his van. He targeted high-profile Democrats who Trump has frequently mocked or scorned publicly.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders during a Monday afternoon press briefing declined to say which outlets the president considers “fake news.”
The president during a Monday night interview with Fox News’s Laura Ingraham continued to deride specific media outlets, calling out NBC’s “Meet the Press” and The Washington Post.
“I watched Meet the Press this weekend — everything was so falsely put, putting words in people’s mouths,” Trump said, and later pointed out that a specific Washington Post headline linked him to the bombing suspect.
[The Hill]