Category: Attack the Press

Fox News Hosts Hannity, Pirro Shill For Trump at Rally: ‘All Those People in the Back are Fake News’

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Fox News host Sean Hannity denied that he would campaign on stage during President Donald Trump‘s final rally before the midterm elections, but as it turns out… that’s exactly what happened.

Hannity was billed by the Trump campaign as a “special guest” for the president’s speaking engagement in Missouri, even though he originally insisted that he would only interview the president backstage and host his show from the venue.

A Fox News spokesperson also told Mediaite that “Hannity will only be hosting his show from that location and interviewing the president.”

Hannity mingled with the crowd and hosted his show in front of the rallygoers, before interviewing the president. Eventually, he was summoned to the podium by Trump, where he started by taking aim at media covering the rally.

“All those people in the back are fake news,” Hannity said.

Hannity insisted that he had no idea Trump was going to invite him up, nonetheless, he showered Trump with the praises he had in his opening monologue from earlier in the evening.

Fox News host Jeanine Pirro was also at the rally as part of Hannity’s show, so Trump eventually invited her to the stage as well, and she too delivered litany of compliments for the president.

“If you like the America that he is making now, you’ve got to make sure you get out there tomorrow if you haven’t voted yet, everyone you know…get them out there to vote for Donald Trump and all the people who are running for the Republican Party,” Pirro said.

Interestingly, Fox News did not carry the speech live.

[Mediaite]

Trump defends controversial ad, telling reporter ‘your questions are offensive a lot of times’

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President Trump on Monday responded to critics calling his controversial anti-immigration ad “offensive” by saying “a lot of things are offensive.”

A reporter asked Trump about the widespread controversy over the ad, which NBC and Fox pulled from the airwaves on Monday.

“I don’t know about it,” Trump said. “We have a lot of ads. And they certainly are effective, based on the numbers that we’re seeing.”

“A lot of things are offensive,” the president told a reporter pressing him over the ad. “Your questions are offensive a lot of times so, you know.”

The ad, paid for by the Trump campaign, links the so-called migrant caravan heading towards the southern border with Luis Bracamontes, a man convicted of killing two U.S. police officers. It accuses Democrats of seeking to bring people like Bracamontes into the U.S., particularly through the caravan.

Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler gave Trump “four Pinocchios” for claiming in the ad that Democrats brought Bracamontes back into the country. A review of court records by the Post reveals his case was handled primarily by Republicans.

CNN over the weekend said the ad is “racist,” saying the network declined the opportunity to be paid to air the ad.

The ad comes as Trump has leaned into immigration as an issue to stoke his base ahead of Tuesday’s elections.

[The Hill]

Trump accuses CNN of ‘Fake Suppression Polls and false rhetoric’

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President Trump on Monday accused CNN of promoting “fake Suppression Polls and false rhetoric” one day before the 2018 midterm elections.

“So funny to see the CNN Fake Suppression Polls and false rhetoric,” Trump tweeted. “Watch for real results Tuesday.”

“Don’t fall for the Suppression Game,” he added. “Go out & VOTE.”

He ended the tweet by touting the country’s impressive economic growth.

Trump’s tweet came hours after a new CNN poll showed Democrats continuing to hold a double-digit lead over Republicans in a generic congressional ballot among likely voters.

The poll also found Trump’s approval rating at 39 percent overall, with a 55 percent of those polled disapproving of his job performance. That is the worst pre-election approval rating for any president ahead of their first midterm election, CNN reported.

Other polls indicate slightly higher approval ratings for Trump, with polling analysis website FiveThirtyEight placing him at a 41.9 percent approval rating on Nov. 5.

A Harvard-Harris poll released last week found Trump’s approval rating at 44 percent among registered voters and 46 percent among likely voters.

Thirty-three percent of registered voters in the poll said their midterm election votes will be a signal of support for Trump while 40 percent said it will be a signal of opposition to the president. Twenty-seven percent said they are not voting according to their disposition on Trump.

An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll in late October found Trump’s approval rating ahead of the midterm elections at a higher level than former President Obama’s ahead of the 2010 midterms.

The poll found Trump’s approval rating at its highest level for that poll yet, at 47 percent. Obama’s approval rating was at 45 percent around the same time in 2010, according to a similar NBC/Wall Street Journal poll taken in late October 2010.

The new CNN poll surveyed 1,151 likely voters between Nov. 1-3 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent.

Most polls have Democrats at an advantage on generic congressional ballots and the party is widely expected to win back the House on Tuesday.

[The Hill]

Trump Defends Calling Media ‘Enemy of the People’: ‘It’s My Only Form of Fighting Back’

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In a newly-released portion of Axios’ interview with Donald Trump, the president once again defended his anti-media rhetoric while brushing off the idea that someone will eventually get hurt because of it.

After asking Trump about his idea to roll back birthright citizenship, Jim VandeHei used multiple points of the interview to question Trump over the implications of calling the press the “enemy of the people.” VandeHei noted that Trump has a major platform between his rallies and his status as president, so he said “there’s got to be a part of you that’s like: ‘Dammit, I’m scared that someone is gonna take it too far.’”

“I think I’m doing a service [by attacking the press] when people write stories about me that are so wrong,” Trump responded. “I know what I do good and what I do bad. I really get it, OK? I really get it better than anybody in the whole world.”

Trump’s remarks come after CNN – one of his favorite media punching bags – was targeted by multiple bomb threats that came through the mail in recent days. These IED packages were allegedly sent by one of the president’s supporters who was arrested last week on suspicion of being the perpetrator for the attempted mail bombing campaign.

Trump continues to bash the media and various critics who were targeted by the recent threats, and judging by his remarks to Axios, he feels no responsibility for how supporters of his may react to his riling them up against the press.

“It’s my only form of fighting back,” Trump said. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t do that.”

[Mediaite]

Trump Goes After the Media for Coverage of His Pittsburgh Visit: Trying to Spread ‘Anger and Division’

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On Wednesday, President Donald Trump held a rally in Florida where talk quickly turned to pointing fingers at the media for sowing “anger and division” in wake of the tragedy in Pittsburgh.

Trump started out by addressing the horrific slaughter of 11 at a Pittsburgh area synagogue on Saturday.

He then talked about his visit to the city, a visit that was met by protesters.

Earlier today, Trump said that there was only a “small protest” in Pittsburgh, something the Washington Post and other outlets noted was not quite accurate.

Yet speaking of the visit at the rally, Trump doubled down.

“Yesterday’s visit to Pittsburgh was about coming together as a nation to comfort and to heal,” Trump began.

Then, venting against the media, the President of the United States said this: “After this day of unity and togetherness, I came home and sadly turned on the news and watched as the far left media once again used tragedy to sow anger and division.”

The crowd booed at the mention of the media.

“Sadly, they took a small group of protesters, far away from where we were because we could not have been treated better,” Trump continued on. “The first lady and myself, but we’re representing the presidency, and they did everything in their power to try to play it up and push people apart. That’s what’s happening.”

The crowd booed again.

“It was fake, and it was make-believe what they said. I came home, looked forward to seeing it, and it was sad,” Trump further opined. “When we talk about division, this is a big part of the division, right there. The far left media has spread terrible lies and stories about the Trump Administration and the tens of millions of people who make up our great movement, the greatest political movement in the history of our country.”

[Mediaite]

Trump Uses ‘Enemy of the People’ Line Attacking ‘Fake News’ to Cheers at FL Rally

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Once again President Donald Trump used the line “enemy of the people” to attack the “fake news” at his Florida rally tonight.

Trump opened by talking about his visit to Pittsburgh and bashing the media for critical coverage of the visit.

He moved on and talked about the great “movement” of his supporters, but as he listed successes of his administration, he went back to attacking the press:

“We have forcefully condemned hatred, bigotry, racism, and prejudice in all of its ugly forms, but the media doesn’t want you to hear your story. It’s not my story, it’s your story. And that’s why 33 percent of the people in this country believe the fake news is, in fact––and I hate to say this––in fact, the enemy of the people.”

The crowd cheered.

Trump went on to say that the media should stop stoking resentment.

[Mediaite]

Trump: ‘Dishonest’ to say I called all media ‘enemy of the people’

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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!”

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]

Trump Rails Against ‘Fake News’ for Blaming Him for the ‘Division and Hatred’ in the Country

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On Sunday night, President Donald Trump lashed out at the media for blaming him for the “division and hatred” in the country.

“The Fake News is doing everything in their power to blame Republicans, Conservatives and me for the division and hatred that has been going on for so long in our Country,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Actually, it is their Fake & Dishonest reporting which is causing problems far greater than they understand!”

Trump’s tweet comes on the same week as Cesar Sayoc, who attended a Trump rally and had Trumpian slogans and photos plastered on his van was arrested for sending explosive devices to CNN, the Obamas, the Clintons and others.

The tweet also comes just one day after suspected shooter Robert Bowers opened fire in a Pittsburgh synagogue, killing 11.

Bowers was also reportedly sparked to action, in part, over rhetoric about the migrant caravan.

[Mediaite]

Trump Posts Breitbart Story on Media ‘Smearing His Supporters’ After Bomb Scare

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President Donald Trump is doubling down on defiance in the face of critics who suggested he tone down his anti-media rhetoric after a man sent pipe bombs to prominent Democrats and the CNN headquarters in New York.

On Saturday, Trump tweeted out a story from right-wing website Breitbart — “Donald Trump Thunders at Media for Trying to Smear His Supporters after Bomb Scares” — that detailed his attacks on the media at a rally Friday night.

Per the Breitbart story Trump linked to:

Trump condemned political violence and called for an end to the politics of personal destruction, especially from the media.

“Political violence must never ever be allowed in America and I’ll do everything in my power to stop it,” he said. “The media has a major role to play, whether they want to or not.”

The president paused as his supporters continued to chant “CNN SUCKS!”

“They have a major role to play as far as tone, as far as everything,” Trump said. “The media’s constant unfair coverage, deep hostility, and negative attacks only serve to drive people apart and to undermine healthy debate.”

The man suspected of sending the pipe bombs to the president’s critics was arrested on Friday. He appears to be a fanatical supporter of Trump, and his white van was plastered with decals of the president — as well as one saying “CNN SUCKS.”

[Mediaite]

Trump Warns: ‘I Could Really Tone Up’ Rhetoric Against the Media

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On his way to yet another rally Friday afternoon, President Donald Trump suggested that he has toned down his rhetoric and, if anything, he could “tone it up.”

When asked by a reporter on the White House lawn if he saw his face plastered all over suspect Cesar Sayoc‘s alleged van, Trump said he did not but admitted he heard that the suspect was “a person that preferred me over others.”

Then when asked about toning down his rhetoric, Trump said this: “Well, I think I’ve been toned down, if you want to know the truth. I could really tone it up. Because, as you know, the media has been extremely unfair to me and to the Republican Party.”

Then continuing on his media grievances he added, “I think the media has been very, very unfair. In terms of the Republican Party. And the way it’s been covered. And they understand that.”

[Mediaite]

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