Trump: Media Is 'Enemy of the American People'

The president's tweet specifically singled out the New York Times, NBC, ABC, CBS and CNN calling them 'fake news.'

Feb. 18, 2017

President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. Credit: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

Haaretz

Reuters

Feb. 18, 2017

U.S. President Donald Trump in a Tweet Friday labelled the New York Times, NBC, ABC, CBS and CNN "fake news" and charged that fake news was the "enemy of the American people."

This latest attack is a further escalation in President Trump's confrontation with the press after an unusual press conference Thursday – his first solo press conference as president - in which he claimed "the press is out of control. The level of dishonesty is out of control."

The tweet came just several minutes aftr the president deleted a similar tweet which seemed to have been changed in order to squeeze in the names of other news organizations into Twitter's 140 character limit.

"The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @CNN, @NBCNews and many more) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American people. SICK!" read his original tweet.

The Times slammed President Trump in its Thursday editorial for his reaction to a reporter asking him about anti-Semitism.

In one unusual exchange near the end of the news conference, Trump called on a questioner, asking if he was "a friendly reporter."

When the journalist asked about recent threats to 48 Jewish centers across the country and signs of rising anti-Semitism, Trump appeared to take the question personally, replying: "I am the least anti-Semitic person that you've ever seen in your entire life."

He added he was also the "least racist person," told the reporter to be "quiet," accused him of lying and then dismissed the question as "insulting."