President Donald Trump returned to Washington, D.C., Tuesday night concluding his two-week, five-nation trip to Asia. Once back in the White House, the president made clear it would be business as usual tweeting out renewed criticism of CNN.
“While in the Philippines I was forced to watch @CNN, which I have not done in months, and again realized how bad, and FAKE, it is. Loser!” he wrote.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/930748627642998784
It’s unclear who exactly was “forcing” the president to watch the network while he was overseas.
And of course, no tweet blasting CNN would be complete without a shout-out to its competitor Fox News — and the president’s favorite program, “Fox & Friends.”
Trump promised that the popular morning show would be “showing much of our successful trip to Asia, and the friendship & benefits that will endure for years to come.”
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/930747213659197441
The tweets suggest that Trump had knowledge of the show’s programming schedule before airtime, a curiosity that MSNBC reporter Stephanie Ruhle pointed out.
Quick question @realDonaldTrump – how did you know what would be on the NEWS over at @foxandfriends before it even aired? https://t.co/Pe9mtmL0B9
— Stephanie Ruhle (@SRuhle) November 15, 2017
The president is known to be especially tight with “Fox & Friends.” Long before he moved to the White House, Trump would regularly call into the show to float false claims that President Barack Obama had not been born in the United States.
Last month, the president even hosted a private White House dinner with former longtime show executive producer Jennifer Rauchet, current co-host Pete Hegseth and a few other guests.