Trump attacks CNN, NBC, British tabloid in presscon
NEW YORK (AP) — US President Donald Trump found time to attack CNN, NBC and British tabloid The Sun, and offer fashion advice to a fourth news organization on Friday while talking to reporters with British Prime Minister Theresa May.
The leaders faced sharp questions at a news conference following their talks, which came between a reportedly contentious meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) representatives and Trump’s upcoming summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Frequent Trump foil Jim Acosta of CNN tried to ask a question at one point and was rebuffed by the president. “CNN is fake news,” Trump said. “I don’t take questions from CNN. Let’s go to a real network,” he added, pointing to Fox News Channel’s John Roberts, who asked if there was any way that relations with Russia would improve as long as the country occupied Crimea.
A day earlier, Trump took a question from CNN’s Jeremy Diamond following the NATO meeting.
As Friday’s session with May was breaking up, Acosta shouted, “Mr. President, will you ask Putin to stay out of US elections?” Trump turned around and answered yes.
Roberts, a veteran of CBS News and CNN, took some withering criticism online for not standing up for Acosta in the moment or, perhaps, ceding the microphone to his colleague.
“There are some fine journalists who work there and risk their lives to report on stories around the world,” Roberts said.
“To issue a blanket condemnation of the network as ‘fake news’ is ... unfair,” he added.
Roberts also said it was similarly wrong for Trump to call Kristen Welker of NBC News dishonest.
“She is as honest as the day is long,” he said.
Trump took offense Friday when Welker asked him, “Are you giving Russian President Vladimir Putin the upper hand heading into your talks given that you are challenging the alliances that he is seeking to break up and defeat?”
Trump called it dishonest reporting. “Of course it happens to be NBC, which is possibly worse than CNN,” he said. Welker was cut off when she tried to reply.
NBC News had no comment on the exchange.
Trump was also questioned on Friday about critical statements he had made about May in an interview this week with The Sun, where he said she had not taken his advice about Brexit negotiations and he praised her political rival. He criticized the newspaper for not printing the positive things he said about May, although he later softened his stance when it was pointed out that The Sun released audio portions of the interview.