Last updated on February 21st, 2017 at 01:21 pm
Donald Trump made a big splash in the muddy waters of that swamp of his when he declared the mainstream media “the enemy of the American people” in a tweet that was quickly deleted.
Here's the tweet Trump deletedβhe's seriously calling the media "the enemy of the American people" pic.twitter.com/TxhnjuNL7q
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 17, 2017
CBS News’ John Dickerson examined Trump’s tweet, pointing out that it wasn’t the media that lied to Vice President Pence. The media only uncovered that fact:
John Dickerson on President Trump's tweet Friday that called the media "the enemy of the American people" https://t.co/POAFHALchI pic.twitter.com/aXWx7bfJEc
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 18, 2017
National security columnist John Schindler made a striking observation in response to Trump’s claim:
On Planet Trump, the MSM is the enemy of the American people, but Russia — which hates us & has thousands of nukes pointed at us — is not.
— John Schindler (@20committee) February 18, 2017
It is no wonder, as Schindler and others have told us, the U.S. intelligence community is terrified of Donald Trump and what he means to the national security of this country. If Trump wanted to further push the so-called “Deep State” away from him, this was the proper way to go about it.
Soledad O’Brien tweeted,
It feels very odd to be called an enemy of the American people in my 30th year of reporting.
— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) February 18, 2017
Conservative columnist S.E. Cupp referred back to the Constitution Donald Trump has apparently never read:
I love that part of the 1st Amendment that declares the press the enemy of the American people. #TrumpsAmerica
— S.E. Cupp (@secupp) February 18, 2017
Sopan Deb, culture writer for The New York Times, who covered the Trump campaign last year for CBS, reacted with humor:
As a journalist, I'm not the enemy of the American people, other than the ones who think Season 2 of the Wire isn't any good.
— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) February 17, 2017
MSNBC’s Chuck Todd tweeted,
I would hope that our leaders would never believe that any American desires to make another American an enemy. Let's dial it back.
— Chuck Todd (@chucktodd) February 17, 2017
To which NBC’s Brad Jaffy responded,
Amen. ππΌππΌππΌππΌππΌππΌππΌππΌππΌππΌ https://t.co/A25NxZrDPJ
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) February 17, 2017
Austin Statesman editor Gabrielle Munoz quipped,
When I was a little girl and people asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always responded "the enemy of the American people." https://t.co/Aw7c6tobOY
— Gabrielle Munoz (@gabrielle_munoz) February 17, 2017
Donald Trump quickly deleted the tweet, but it cannot be known if he understands what he has done by posting it at all. That act alone displays a man who is not in control of his emotions, the very thing he accused Hillary Clinton of.
As Rolling Stone op-ed writer Jesse Berney put it, “It’s really bad. It’s really, really, really bad.” And it is.
Trump has already called the press the “opposition party” and has demonized and delegitimized them at every turn. When Chief White House Strategist Steve Bannon said of the press last month,
βThey donβt understand this country. They still do not understand why Donald Trump is the president of the United States.β
It was Steve Bannon showing that it is he, and his boss in the Oval Office, who do not understand this country, it’s institutions or the fact that there are limits even on the president’s power.
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