Trump Tweets a Video of Him Wrestling ‘CNN’ to the Ground
But Mr. Trump has ratcheted up his attacks on the news media in recent days — assailing CNN
and crudely insulting the hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” — while defending his use of social media as “modern day presidential.”
In a speech on Saturday at a faith rally in Washington, Mr. Trump was met with cheers when he referred to CNN as “garbage journalism”
and said: “The fake media tried to stop us from going to the White House.
“Targeting individual journalists or media outlets, on- or off-line, creates a chilling effect and fosters an environment where further harassment, or even physical attack, is deemed acceptable,” Courtney Radsch, the advocacy director for the Committee to Protect Journalists, wrote in a statement on Sunday, adding
that Mr. Trump’s comments may embolden “autocratic leaders around the world.”
Mr. Trump, who is spending part of the weekend at his Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N. J., posted
the wrestling tweet just as prominent Republicans began appearing on the major Sunday news programs.
On Saturday, hours before posting the wrestling video, Mr. Trump tweeted to his 33 million
followers, “I am thinking about changing the name #FakeNews CNN to #FraudNewsCNN!”
On Sunday, CNN issued its response.
“Your program — a program with the incredible history of ‘Meet the Press’ — and that’s what you want to talk about?”
Some White House aides said privately on Sunday that the president was being held to a double standard.
On CNN, Senator Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican and frequent Trump critic, accused the president of “weaponizing distrust” toward the news media.
