President Trump stepped up his attacks on CNN Thursday morning, calling on the network’s president Jeff Zucker to be “fired” over ratings that “suck.”
“The hatred and extreme bias of me by @CNN has clouded their thinking and made them unable to function,” Trump tweeted. “But actually, as I have always said, this has been going on for a long time. Little Jeff Z has done a terrible job, his ratings suck, & AT&T should fire him to save credibility!”
The hatred and extreme bias of me by @CNN has clouded their thinking and made them unable to function. But actually, as I have always said, this has been going on for a long time. Little Jeff Z has done a terrible job, his ratings suck, & AT&T should fire him to save credibility!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 30, 2018
The president then lashed out at NBC and MSNBC Chairman Andrew Lack.
“What’s going on at @CNN is happening, to different degrees, at other networks - with @NBCNews being the worst,” Trump said. “The good news is that Andy Lack(y) is about to be fired(?) for incompetence, and much worse. When Lester Holt got caught fudging my tape on Russia, they were hurt badly!”
What’s going on at @CNN is happening, to different degrees, at other networks - with @NBCNews being the worst. The good news is that Andy Lack(y) is about to be fired(?) for incompetence, and much worse. When Lester Holt got caught fudging my tape on Russia, they were hurt badly!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 30, 2018
Trump followed up by again declaring the fake news media as the “enemy of the people.”
“I just cannot state strongly enough how totally dishonest much of the Media is. Truth doesn’t matter to them, they only have their hatred & agenda. This includes fake books, which come out about me all the time, always anonymous sources, and are pure fiction,” he tweeted. “Enemy of the People!”
I just cannot state strongly enough how totally dishonest much of the Media is. Truth doesn’t matter to them, they only have their hatred & agenda. This includes fake books, which come out about me all the time, always anonymous sources, and are pure fiction. Enemy of the People!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 30, 2018
The tweets were not the first time this week Trump and CNN have clashed. On Wednesday he said the network was being “torn apart” over being “caught in a major lie and refusing to admit the mistake.”
Trump was specifically referring to journalist Carl Bernstein, who in July wrote a report that claimed the president knew about the Trump Tower meeting between campaign officials and Russians. It turns out the source for that story was Lanny Davis, the lawyer for Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen. Davis admitted he “made a mistake” and recanted key details he gave CNN for the story, which the network has not pulled.
CNN’s public relations department responded to Trump Wednesday, tweeting that “CNN does not lie. We report the news. And we report when people in power tell lies. CNN stands by our reporting and our reporters. There may be many fools in this story but @carlbernstein is not one of them.”