TRUMP VICIOUSLY ATTACKS MEDIA OVER FIRESTORM HIS OWN COMMENTS CAUSED

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday blamed the news media for a political firestorm that erupted last week over his comments about a racist demonstration in Virginia.

Trump told supporters at a campaignstyle rally in Phoenix, Arizona that two statements he made condemning the violence, bigotry and racism and his comments at a news conference two days after the demonstration were not thoroughly reported in the media.

He re-read nearly all of the two statements, which in fact had been carried live on television and reported in print media last week. But he left out unscripted comments that caused the most criticism - that there was blame on “both sides,” which equated white nationalists with counter-demonstrators and that “good people” were among the white supremacists who marched on August 12 in Charlottesville, Virginia.

It was “time to expose the crooked media deception” and explore their role in fomenting violence, the president said, suggesting the media was only interested in giving a platform to hate groups as they seek ratings and clicks.

Trump has lashed out at the mainstream media many times before, but this condemnation was among the angriest he had ever made. Painting himself as the victim, he railed about the New York Times, the Washington Post and CNN, saying the press corps was full of liars. “These are sick people.”

He also questioned the media’s loyalty to the country.

“You would think they would want to make our country great again, and I honestly believe they don’t.”

Since taking office Trump regularly has held several campaign-style rallies promoting his causes and agenda. On Tuesday he spoke about the fight to pass health care reform, which fell one vote short of passing last month.