Donald Trump stood up in front of the press, his demeanor like that of a chastised child forced to apologize as he responded to the news that terrorist or terrorists sent seven bombs to top Democratic leaders, a big Democratic donor, and CNN. Of course, he did not apologize, and his reading of the words that someone wrote for him was lackluster. Trump has consistently been weak in his response to attacks on the press, including the torture and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist, Jamal Khashoggi. CNN was hot.
The president did not even bother to mention CNN at his press conference. CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker tweeted out a powerful response to the man who is supposed to be the leader of this great nation. In his statement, Zucker called the White House and Trump on their lack of understanding “their words matter:”
‘Statement from CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker:
“There is a total and complete lack of understanding at the White House about the seriousness of their continued attacks on the media. The President, and especially the White House Press Secretary, should understand their words matter. Thus far, they have shown no comprehension of that.” Jeff Zucker CNN Worldwide.’
Trump has used his attacks on the media as currency for undermining the free press. He has frequently called them “the enemy of the people.” The president urges the people attending his rallies to physically harm the press. During his campaign, the Secret Service had to escort one journalist out of the rally, because Trump had been calling on her by name.
It gets worse. When the commander-in-chief spoke at the Veterans of Foreign War (VFW) convention, he told his audience to not pay attention to what they saw and what they heard. No, he told them to just listen to him. Last week, the man sitting in the Oval Office inflamed attendees of his rally by imitating a member of Congress body-slamming one of the press. The guy was charged for the crime, but Trump did not mention that.
Twitter world responded like crazy. Check out some of our favorites below:
Featured image is a screenshot via YouTube.
