President Trump responded to a weekend that saw 11 people killed in a shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue by attacking the “Fake News Media,” blaming them for the “division and hatred” affecting the country today.
He first said in a tweet Sunday evening that “The Fake News is doing everything in their power to blame Republicans, Conservatives and me for the division and hatred that has been going on for so long in our Country,” blaming “Fake & Dishonest reporting which is causing problems far greater than they understand.”
Trump then followed up with a pair of tweets on Monday morning referring to the media as the “True Enemy of the People.”
“Must stop the open & obvious hostility & report the news accurately & fairly. That will do much to put out the flame of Anger and Outrage and we will then be able to bring all sides together in Peace & Harmony. Fake News Must End!”
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1056700376718684160
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1056879122348195841
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1056880287974649856
Earlier in the week following the Pittsburgh attack, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders criticized the Washington Post front page by accusing them of exploiting the tragedy to attack Trump.
“The evil act of anti-Semitism in Pittsburg [sic] was committed by a coward who hated President Trump because @POTUS is such an unapologetic defender of the Jewish community and the state of Israel,” Sanders wrote Sunday.
The New York Times’ chief White House correspondent Peter Baker responded to Sanders by defending the Post and clarifying that the newspaper was not attacking the President but was reporting the words of the President’s critics.
Is there any tragedy the Washington Post won’t exploit to attack President @realDonaldTrump? The evil act of anti-Semitism in Pittsburg was committed by a coward who hated President Trump because @POTUS is such an unapologetic defender of the Jewish community and state of Israel. https://t.co/0tCNpepC9k
— Kayleigh McEnany 45 Archived (@PressSec45) October 28, 2018
To be clear, the Washington Post is not attacking the president. The president's critics are and the Post is writing about the conflict. That's what newspapers do. We don't just quote the people in power but the people who disagree with the people in power. @DavidNakamura
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) October 28, 2018