President Trump on Thursday blasted NBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell and the media at large for reporting fake news.
“Crazy Lawrence O’Donnell, who has been calling me wrong from even before I announced my run for the Presidency, even being previously forced by NBC to apologize, which he did while crying, for things he said about me & The Apprentice, was again forced to apologize, this time ... for the most ridiculous claim of all, that Russia, Russia, Russia, or Russian oligarchs, co-signed loan documents for me, a guarantee,” Trump tweeted.
He continued: “Totally false, as is virtually everything else he, and much of the rest of the LameStream Media, has said about me for years. ALL APOLOGIZE!”
Crazy Lawrence O’Donnell, who has been calling me wrong from even before I announced my run for the Presidency, even being previously forced by NBC to apologize, which he did while crying, for things he said about me & The Apprentice, was again forced to apologize, this time.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2019
....for the most ridiculous claim of all, that Russia, Russia, Russia, or Russian oligarchs, co-signed loan documents for me, a guarantee. Totally false, as is virtually everything else he, and much of the rest of the LameStream Media, has said about me for years. ALL APOLOGIZE!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2019
He added that O’Donnell’s “reporting” that tied Trump’s finances to Russia is no different than the rest of the Fake News the American people have been dealing with for years.
“The totally inaccurate reporting by Lawrence O’Donnell, for which he has been forced by NBC to apologize, is NO DIFFERENT than the horrible, corrupt and fraudulent Fake News that I (and many millions of GREAT supporters) have had to put up with for years. So bad for the USA!”
The totally inaccurate reporting by Lawrence O’Donnell, for which he has been forced by NBC to apologize, is NO DIFFERENT than the horrible, corrupt and fraudulent Fake News that I (and many millions of GREAT supporters) have had to put up with for years. So bad for the USA!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2019
Trump was referring to O'Donnell and Rachel Maddow discussing on Tuesday loans he received when "no one else would loan him any money."
O’Donnell said he “may have some information” that "if true" would help explain things.
“I stress ‘if true,’ because this is a single source who has told me that Deutsche Bank obtained tax returns…this single source close to Deutsche Bank has told me that Donald Trump’s loan documents there show he has co-signers. That’s how he was able to obtain those loans and that the co-signers are Russian oligarchs.”
The next day, Trump's legal team demanded a retraction and apology for the “aforementioned false and defamatory” story.
O'Donnell did apologize and said it was an "error in judgment" for running it.
"Last night on this show, I discussed information that wasn't ready for reporting," he said during his program on Wednesday.
“I did not go through the rigorous verification and standards process here at MSNBC before repeating what I heard from my source,” he continued. “Had it gone through that process, I would not have been permitted to report it. I should not have said it on-air or post it on Twitter. I was wrong to do so.”