Political Twitter is baffled Tuesday morning after President Trump deleted a pair of retweets calling him a “fascist” and showing a cartoon train smashing into the CNN logo.
Trump retweeted and then deleted a tweet by @MikeHolden42 that read, “He’s a fascist, so not unusual,” according to Mediaite, which captured screen grabs of both now-deleted messages.
The second tweet he retweeted them promptly deleted involved a meme of a train smashing through the CNN logo with the message, “Fake news can’t stop the Trump train.” The White House told NBC News that the train meme was “inadvertently posted” and when they “noticed it, it was immediately deleted.”
Also Read: Trump Retweets Then Deletes Post That Called Him a 'Fascist'
WH official tells @kwelkernbc this image RT'd by @realDonaldTrump was "inadvertently posted" and when "noticed it was immediately deleted" pic.twitter.com/rnzEqNR7RP
— Monica Alba (@albamonica) August 15, 2017
Despite claiming it was a mistake, media members and political watchdogs are amazed that the president would be so reckless on social media.
Umm… Why did Trump retweet this? pic.twitter.com/YegMlRn43s
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) August 15, 2017
Two hours after he distributed this, the White House still has no comment about why the hell the president would do that: pic.twitter.com/VyRznJP8v5
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) August 15, 2017
Trump just re-tweeted this image, of a CNN journalist being killed, run over by a train 3 days after a woman was killed, run over by a car. pic.twitter.com/TZ09OafrXF
— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) August 15, 2017
President – who has called reporters "enemies of the people" – retweeted a cartoon of one being hit by a train (he later deleted it)
— West Wing Reports (by Paul Brandus) (@WestWingReport) August 15, 2017
He's in deep poll trouble and needs to whip up a feud with the media. That train's right on schedule. https://t.co/MFHSPusHdg
— James Poniewozik (@poniewozik) August 15, 2017
President Trump also retweeted this tweet that appears to show a "Trump Train" running over a CNN reporter pic.twitter.com/dBwU0I3fEX
— Jessica Simeone (@JessicaSimeone) August 15, 2017
Trump has time to tweet & delete this pic, but couldn't tweet condemnation of #Charlottesville for 2 days. Maybe he doesn't have "stamina." pic.twitter.com/fxW4etxnez
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) August 15, 2017
https://twitter.com/AliVelshi/status/897454788585172992
Please Retweet this. Trump, with hate in his heart, just RT'd and deleted THIS image, after a Domestic Terrorist ran down a woman with a car pic.twitter.com/3ohG6rm4dy
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) August 15, 2017
#Trump retweets then deletes:
•Photo of train running over CNN reporter
•Tweet calling him fascist pic.twitter.com/Ulk66Q8vQD— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) August 15, 2017
https://twitter.com/MattGarrahan/status/897423825171865600
Also Read: Trump Blasts CNN's Jim Acosta (Again): 'You're Fake News' (Video)
Trump had a busy morning on social media promoting a “Fox & Friends” interview with Senator Luther Strange and retweeting a Fox News story that he is “seriously considering” a pardon for ex-Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Those tweets are still active on his page.
Arpaio, 85, is a former Arizona sheriff who was found guilty earlier this summer of criminal contempt for defying a state judge’s order to stop traffic patrols targeting suspected undocumented immigrants.
It appears the tweet calling Trump a “fascist” was in response to his stance on Arpaio.
Trump has been criticized for retweeting memes depicting violence against CNN in the past. He famously sent a video that showed him attacking a man with a CNN logo as a head earlier this year. On Monday, Trump blasted CNN’s Jim Acosta as “fake news” during a heated exchange.