President Donald Trump once again attacked the credibility of mainstream media outlets Monday morning, rejecting a recent New York Times report that he watches CNN’s Don Lemon for motivation.
In addition to criticizing TheNYT’s report, which purported to give a moment-by-moment accounting of Trump’s typical work day, the president also attacked CNN and MSNBC, labeling them with his oft-repeated “fake news” moniker. Both networks discussed Trump’s reported proclivity for hours-long cable news binges Monday morning.
Another false story, this time in the Failing @nytimes, that I watch 4-8 hours of television a day – Wrong! Also, I seldom, if ever, watch CNN or MSNBC, both of which I consider Fake News. I never watch Don Lemon, who I once called the “dumbest man on television!” Bad Reporting.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 11, 2017
While Trump has steadily criticized CNN throughout his tenure, his attacks have grown more vitriolic in the wake of a botched CNN report on the Trump campaign’s contacts with Russians.
CNN reported Friday morning that Trump, Trump Jr. and others on the campaign received an email Sept. 4, 2016, granting them access to former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s previously unreleased hacked emails. In reality, the email was sent Sept. 14, and directed the recipients to documents that had already been publicized. CNN issued a correction some seven hours after the initial report. (RELATED: CNN Botches Major ‘Bombshell’ Alleging Contacts Between Don Jr. And WikiLeaks)
Trump responded with a series of tweets Saturday morning, calling the reporting error a “vicious and purposeful mistake.”
Ironically, Trump praised Don Lemon for his professionalism in Dec. 2015 following an interview.
Great interview tonight @donlemon – very professionally done. @CNN
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 10, 2015
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