If there’s one thing that can be said to be a lasting feature of the Trump presidency, it’s Donald Trump’s hatred of much of the mainstream media out there today. He prefers to put the responsibility for reports about negative aspects to his administration on the media instead of actually aiming to fix the negative aspects to his administration.
The situation was no different Saturday when, as the annual G7 summit moved towards its conclusion, Trump took questions from the press. A reporter with CNN asked the president about his take on the United States’ alliances with the rest of the world under his leadership, and instead of just answering the question, Trump replied by asking the reporter what outlet he was with.
After the reporter answered that he was with CNN, Trump snapped:
‘I figured. Fake news CNN — the worst! I could tell by the question. After the question, I had no idea who you were with — you’re with CNN.’
It’s not as though the reporter’s question wasn’t based in reality. Trump went into the G7 summit this week in Canada after having imposed tariffs on imported goods from countries that are allied with us all around the world, including Canada and the members of the European Union. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Trump has faced backlash for those tariffs from the countries targeted and from interests at home, too.
As an extension of that situation, the CNN reporter asked Trump Saturday what he thought about a take on the situation being that relations between the United States and its allies are on rocky ground, but apparently, Trump is either unable to see or unwilling to acknowledge the fact that looming trade wars and public statement barbs being traded back and forth aren’t exactly widely accepted signs of a foreign policy relationship being on solid ground.
After his jab at the network — which came after months and months of the president targeting the outlet — Trump told the reporter:
‘I would say that the level of a relationship is a ten.’
After naming an array of fellow G7 leaders by their first names, Trump went so far as to assert that he doesn’t “blame them” for the trade deficits that the United States maintains — despite the fact that it’s their countries that he’s hit with tariffs.
Check out the video featuring that remarkable leap of logic — and his attack on CNN — below. Can he not let up with his dictatorial criticism of the free press for even the length of one press conference?
Soon after he leaves Canada, Trump will be heading to Singapore for a long awaited sit down with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Trump has touted supposed shifts in North Korea’s stance towards the world as evidence that his campaign of aggression is working, but the world will at this point have to wait and see where we go from here when it comes to the threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear determination.
For now, Trump is continuing on with familiar patterns of demonizing the press for challenging questionable aspects to his administration.
Featured Image via Screenshot from the Video
