‘Fake News, Crooked Hillary, Rocket Man’: Trump’s list of foes
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump makes no bones about calling out his perceived foes, most frequently using Twitter. From the moment he launched his campaign for the White House, the New York real estate tycoon has embraced a no-holds-barred style which includes flinging insults at those he sees as his opponents. Trump’s thinskinned displeasure has focused on targets far and wide, from the “fake news” media to fellow politicians-both Republican and Democrat-to Hollywood celebrities and star athletes. Here is a non-exhaustive list of subjects of Trump’s ire:
‘Fake News’ media Trump’s most frequent target of complaint is the mainstream media-particularly CNN and The New York Times-which he claims treat him unfairly. “Wow, so many Fake News stories today. No matter what I do or say, they will not write or speak truth. The Fake News Media is out of control!” he tweeted in October. In February, Trump went so far as to call the press the “enemy of the American people.” “The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @CNN, @NBCNews and many more) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American people. SICK!” he said in a tweet. Trump removed that tweet but reposted it soon afterward adding another two broadcasting outlets — @ABC and @CBS-which he had apparently initially overlooked. Trump has also called out members of the media individually, describing MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski as “dumb as a rock” and dubbing her co-host Joe Scarborough “Psycho Joe.”
‘Crooked Hillary’ Trump’s attacks on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton were relentless during the 2016 campaign, during which he would refer to her as “Crooked Hillary.” But even now that he is ensconced Trump has not stopped firing jabs at Clinton. “Crooked Hillary Clinton now blames everybody but herself, refuses to say she was a terrible candidate,” Trump tweeted in May. He mocked her again in October saying: “I was recently asked if Crooked Hillary Clinton is going to run in 2020? My answer was, “I hope so!”
‘Witch hunt’
The FBI-and now special counselinvestigation into whether members of Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia to get him elected has been a frequent target of the president’s fury. He has repeatedly derided it as a “witch hunt,” a “hoax” and a “charade.” “The story that there was collusion between the Russians & Trump campaign was fabricated by (the Democrats) as an excuse for losing the election,” he tweeted in May. “You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history-led by some very bad and conflicted people,” Trump tweeted in June.
‘Toxic and WEAK’
Two Republican senators-Bob Corker of Tennessee and Jeff Flake of Arizonahave come out strongly against Trump and have been targets of his Twitter tirades. Trump has referred to Corker, who is not particularly tall, as “liddle’ Bob Corker,” dismissed him as a “lightweight” and claimed he “couldn’t get elected dog catcher in Tennessee.” “People like liddle’ Bob Corker have set the US way back,” he said last month. As for Flake, Trump said he’s “toxic” and “WEAK on borders, crime and a non-factor in Senate.” —AFP