CNN moved swiftly Tuesday to respond to Donald Trump after the president rage tweeted against network boss “Jeff Zuker.”
CNN’s PR team zeroed in on Trump’s well-known habit of misspellings, which in this case included flubbing the CNN chief’s name — which is spelled Zucker.
“Once again, false. The personal political beliefs of CNN’s employees are of no interest to us. Their pursuit of the truth is our only concern. Also, Jeff’s last name is spelled Z-U-C-K-E-R. Those are the facts. #FactsFirst????” the communications team said, adding a trollish “facts first” apple emoji.
“As for “challenged,” they added. “CNN just finished its second highest rated first quarter in the past nine years. Those are the facts. #FactsFirst.”
Once again, false. The personal political beliefs of CNN’s employees are of no interest to us. Their pursuit of the truth is our only concern. Also, Jeff’s last name is spelled Z-U-C-K-E-R. Those are the facts. #FactsFirst????
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) April 3, 2018
As for “challenged,” CNN just finished its second highest rated first quarter in the past nine years. Those are the facts. #FactsFirst????
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) April 3, 2018
The response came after a series of angry tweets where the president broadly took aim at the “fake news” media and defended the conservative-leaning news organization Sinclair Broadcast Group.
“The Fake News Networks, those that knowingly have a sick and biased AGENDA, are worried about the competition and quality of Sinclair Broadcast. The “Fakers” at CNN, NBC, ABC & CBS have done so much dishonest reporting that they should only be allowed to get awards for fiction!” said Trump.
“Check out the fact that you can’t get a job at ratings challenged @CNN unless you state that you are totally anti-Trump? Little Jeff Zuker, whose job is in jeopardy, is not having much fun lately. They should clean up and strengthen CNN and get back to honest reporting!” he added.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/981117684489379840
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/981123772169191424
The president’s concern for Sinclair comes after the company has faced withering criticism after revelations that their broadcasters were required to read anti-media talking points on air. The news was first reported by Deadspin over the weekend and included what has become an insanely viral video to drive home the point.
How America's largest local TV owner turned its news anchors into soldiers in Trump's war on the media: https://t.co/iLVtKRQycL pic.twitter.com/dMdSGellH3
— Deadspin (@Deadspin) March 31, 2018
“We’re concerned about the troubling trend of irresponsible, one sided news stories plaguing our country. The sharing of biased and false news has become all too common on social media,” the anchors read.
“More alarming, some media outlets publish these same fake stories… stories that just aren’t true, without checking facts first. Unfortunately, some members of the media use their platforms to push their own personal bias and agenda to control ‘exactly what people think’…This is extremely dangerous to a democracy.”