News / Society

Trump again blasts ‘fake and fraudulent’ news media

Sunday, 02 July 2017 4:43 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 05 July 2017 10:22 AM ]

US President Donald Trump speaks during the “Celebrate Freedom” concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, on July 1, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

US President Donald Trump has once again lashed out at the news media, defending his aggressive use of Twitter against the press following his bitter feud with MSNBC hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough.

Earlier in the week, Trump launched a personal attack on the two hosts in some tweeted messages that were condemned by both Democrats and Republicans alike.

“I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don't watch anymore),” Trump tweeted Thursday. “Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year's Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no!”

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Trump angrily blasts ‘Morning Joe’ hosts on Twitter

He has previously criticized other major US media outlets including CNN, ABC, The New York Times and The Washington Post.

On Saturday, the president defended his assaults on the news media, saying, "My use of social media is not Presidential - it's MODERN DAY PRESIDENTIAL. Make America Great Again!"

"I had to beat #FakeNews, and did. We will continue to WIN!" he posted.

Trump again criticized the two MSNBC hosts, referring to Brzezinski as "dumb as a rock" and Scarborough as "Crazy Joe."

Joe Scarborough (L) and Mika Brzezinski (file photo)

The president claimed that "the fake and fraudulent" news media say he should not use social media. However, he added that he would use them because they helped him win the 2016 election.

Taking a swipe at a favorite target, CNN, he said he was considering calling the cable news network "Fraud News CNN" instead of "Fake News CNN."

Also, during a speech at an evangelical event honoring veterans in Washington on the same day, Trump accused the media of trying to gag him and his supporters.

“The fake media is trying to silence us, but we will not let them,” he said.

“The fake media tried to stop us from going to the White House. But I’m president, and they’re not,” he told attendees at the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

He suggested that the media have gone too far, thus destroying themselves.

Trump has described as fake almost all the outlets which in some way criticized him or his administration, while he himself used copies of a fake cover of the TIME magazine on the walls of at least four of his golf clubs with another being displayed at his Ireland resort.