Trump downplays Ivanka’s remarks
Washington, Aug. 3: US President Donald Trump on Friday tried to tamp down speculation of differences with daughter Ivanka over his remarks about the press by saying that it is the ‘ Fake News’ and not the entire media that is the enemy of the people, hours after she distanced herself from the US President’s comments.
Trump has repeatedly criticised the media before and during his presidency. He has declared journalists to be “enemies of the people”, drawing condemnation from across the political spectrum.
During an event on Thursday, when Ivanka was asked about her father’s repeated accusation that the media is the “enemy of the people”, she said, “No. I do not feel that the media is the enemy of the people.”
“I’ve received my fair share of reporting on me personally that I know not to be fully accurate, so I’ve had some sensitivity around why people have concerns and gripe, especially when they sort of feel targeted,” Ivanka, who is also Trump's senior adviser, said.
Her remarks were construed as her differences with the president on this issue. However hours later, President Trump took to Twitter to clarify the issue.
“They asked my daughter Ivanka whether or not the media is the enemy of the people. She correctly said no. It is the FAKE NEWS, which is a large percentage of the media, that is the enemy of the people! ( sic),” he tweeted.
Asked at the White House briefing about Ivanka’s remarks, press secretary Sarah Sanders refused to reject the president’s statements that the media is the enemy of the people. “The president’s rightfully frustrated; 90
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per cent of the coverage on him is negative despite the fact that the economy is booming, ISIS is on the run, and American leadership is being reasserted around the world,” she said. When Acosta insisted her to express her views, Sanders said, “I’m here to speak on behalf of the president. He’s made his comments.”
A few days back, Trump had called American journalists “unpatriotic” as he accused them of putting lives at risk by their reporting.
“When the media- driven insane by their Trump Derangement Syndrome - reveals internal deliberations of our government, it truly puts the lives of many, not just journalists, at risk! Very unpatriotic!” he had said.
He ramped up his attack on the media last night during a campaign rally by criticising the press as “fake, fake, disgusting news” and describing journalists in attendance as “horrible, horrendous people”, despite UN experts’ warning earlier in the day that his actions were putting journalists at risk.