Trump hammering U.S. media
President criticized by media organizations over tweeted video
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — In his latest jab at the media, President Donald Trump on Sunday tweeted a mock video that shows him pummeling a man in a business suit — his face obscured by the CNN logo — outside a wrestling ring.
It was not immediately clear who produced the brief video, which appears to be a doctored version of Trump’s 2007 appearance on World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. The 28-second clip was posted on Trump’s official Twitter account, with the message: “#FraudNewsCNN #FNN.”
The president in the past has branded the media as “the opposition party” and “the enemy of the American people.” He has taken particular aim at CNN, calling the network “fake news.”
Bruce Brown, the executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, condemned the video as a “threat of physical violence against journalists.” He said Trump’s tweet was “beneath the office of the presidency.”
A White House aide insisted the tweet should not send a chill across the media landscape.
“I think that no one would perceive that as a threat,” homeland security adviser Tom Bossert said. “I hope they don’t. But I do think that he’s beaten up in a way on cable platforms that he has a right to respond to.”
CNN accused Trump of engaging in “juvenile behaviour far below the dignity of his office.”
White House officials travelling with Trump during his weekend stay at his New Jersey golf club did not immediately respond to questions about who made the video or about any message the president might have intended to send.
The video appeared to be a doctored version of an appearance Trump made on a World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. show called Battle of the Billionaires in 2007, in which Trump appears to attack WWE CEO Vince McMahon.
The video was posted several days ago by a Reddit user with the title, “Trump takes down fake news.”
It was not clear whether that was where it originated or where Trump found it. Still, the user wrote Sunday about being “honoured” Trump had tweeted the video. The user who posted the video has a history of posts using anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant language.
The president’s verbal shots against news outlets and individual members of the media have grown increasingly personal in recent days
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Demonstrators hoisting signs and chanting anti-Donald Trump slogans marched through downtown Los Angeles to urge Congress to impeach the president.
The Los Angeles march was one of several similar gatherings Sunday across California and the nation.
Organizers say they believe the president has violated the U.S. Constitution and obstructed justice.
One banner called the president an “Illegitimate Corrupt Puppet.”
even as lawmakers in both parties say the insults only threaten to undermine his political agenda.
Trump has singled out MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski and CNN for some of his most biting criticism, and hardly is backing down in the face of widespread condemnation from the political class.
“The fake media tried to stop us from going to the White House, but I’m president and they’re not,” Trump told a supportive crowd Saturday in Washington.
A White House spokeswoman, Sarah Sanders,
Marcher John Meranda tells the Los Angeles Times he has attended five recent anti-Trump marches.The 56-year-old says he’s most recently frightened by the Republican proposal to cut billions of dollars from the Medicaid program.
A smaller group of pro-Trump protesters gathered nearby outside Los Angeles police headquarters.
The Trump supporters say they’re unconcerned about allegations that Trump tried to thwart an FBI investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
told reporters last week that Trump “in no way, form or fashion has ever promoted or encouraged violence.”
CNN, in its response to the video posted Sunday, said it was “a sad day when the president of the United States encourages violence against reporters. Clearly, Sarah Huckabee Sanders lied when she said the president had never done so.”
Trump’s latest tweet came as Republicans and Democrats have been imploring him to focus on leading the country, rather than exploding on social media.