The president in the past has branded the media as ‚the opposition party‘ and ‚the enemy of the American people.‘<\/b>
\nlBRIDGEWATER, N. J. \u2014 In his latest jab at the media, President Donald Trump on Sunday tweeted a mock video that shows him pummeling a man in a business suit \u2014 his face obscured by the CNN logo \u2014 outside a wrestling ring.
It was not immediately clear who produced the brief video, which appears to be a doctored version of Trump\u2019s 2007 appearance on World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. The 28-second clip was posted on Trump\u2019s official Twitter account, with the message: \u201c#FraudNewsCNN #FNN.\u201d
The president in the past has branded the media as \u201cthe opposition party\u201d and \u201cthe enemy of the American people.\u201d He has taken particular aim at CNN, calling the network \u201cfake news.\u201d
Bruce Brown, the executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, condemned the video as a \u201cthreat of physical violence against journalists.\u201d He said Trump\u2019s tweet was \u201cbeneath the office of the presidency.\u201d
A White House aide insisted the tweet should not send a chill across the media landscape.
\u201cI think that no one would perceive that as a threat, \u201d homeland security adviser Tom Bossert said. \u201cI hope they don\u2019 t. But I do think that he\u2019s beaten up in a way on cable platforms that he has a right to respond to.\u201d
CNN accused Trump of engaging in \u201cjuvenile behaviour far below the dignity of his office.\u201d
White House officials travelling with Trump during his weekend stay at his New Jersey golf club did not immediately respond to questions about who made the video or about any message the president might have intended to send.
The video appeared to be a doctored version of an appearance Trump made on a World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. show called \u201cBattle of the Billionaires\u201d in 2007, in which Trump appears to attack WWE CEO Vince McMahon.
McMahon\u2019s wife, Linda, who founded and built the company with her husband, now heads the Small Business Administration for Trump and was a generous benefactor to his campaign.
The video was posted several days ago by a Reddit user with the title, \u201cTrump takes down fake news.\u201d It was not clear whether that was where it originated or where Trump found it. Still, the user wrote Sunday about being \u201chonoured\u201d Trump had tweeted the video. The user who posted the video has a history of posts using anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant language.
The president\u2019s verbal shots against news outlets and individual members of the media have grown increasingly personal in recent days even as lawmakers in both parties say the insults only threaten to undermine his political agenda.
Trump has singled out MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski and CNN for some of his most biting criticism, and hardly is backing down in the face of widespread condemnation from the political class.
\u201cThe fake media tried to stop us from going to the White House, but I\u2019 m president and they\u2019 re not, \u201d Trump told a supportive crowd Saturday in Washington.
A White House spokeswoman, Sarah Sanders, told reporters last week that Trump \u201cin no way, form or fashion has ever promoted or encouraged violence.\u201d
CNN, in its response to the video posted Sunday, said it was \u201ca sad day when the president of the United States encourages violence against reporters. Clearly, Sarah Huckabee Sanders lied when she said the president had never done so.\u201d
CNN\u2019s statement noted the weighty list of issues before Trump \u2014 an overseas trip this week that includes a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the stalled health care bill, the threat from North Korea. Instead of focusing on those matters, CNN said, \u201che is involved in juvenile behaviour far below the dignity of his office. We will keep doing our jobs. He should start doing his.\u201d
Trump\u2019s latest tweet came as Republicans and Democrats have been imploring him to focus on leading the country, rather than exploding on social media.
For days, Trump has focused his ire on Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough, co-hosts of MSNBC\u2019s \u201cMorning Joe.\u201d
Trump took to Twitter on Thursday to call Brzezinski \u201ccrazy\u201d and contend she was \u201cbleeding badly from a face-lift\u201d when he once saw them at his Florida estate. The comment was decried as sexist and vulgar by many Democrats and Republicans.
The MSNBC personalities said Friday that Trump was lying about their December encounter and they questioned his \u201cunhealthy obsession\u201d with their program.
The hosts, who are a couple onscreen and off, also said the White House told them a damaging National Enquirer story about their relationship would \u201cgo away\u201d if they called the president and apologized for harsh commentary. Trump quickly disputed the claim on Twitter.
Republican officials acknowledged Sunday that Trump\u2019s Twitter feed distracts from work like health care.
\u201cWe in Washington, we in the country, cannot be focused on tweets, \u201d said Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., adding that \u201cI get so frustrated when we get focused on tweets.\u201d
Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio, said he hoped Trump\u2019s family would talk to him and say, \u201cKnock it off.\u201d
\u201cThe coarseness doesn\u2019 t help anybody, \u201d he said.
Bossert and Kasich appeared on ABC\u2019s This Week. Cassidy was on NBC\u2019s Meet the Press.<\/p>\n

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