After the Des Moines Register’s editorial board on Monday called on Donald Trump to drop out of the 2016 presidential race, calling the real estate mogul a “feckless blowhard,” Trump hit back with a statement attacking the paper’s integrity.
“I am not at all surprised by the Des Moines Register’s sophomoric editorial,” Trump said in a Tuesday statement. “The Des Moines Register has lost much circulation, advertising, and power over the last number of years. They will do anything for a headline, and this poorly written ‘non-endorsement’ got them some desperately needed ink.”
Trump then launched into an attack of the paper’s coverage of his campaign, specifically knocking the Des Moines Register’s reporting on the number of attendees at Trump events.
“On the campaign trail in Iowa, a state whose people I have truly gotten to know and love, I have been treated very badly by the Des Moines Register. They were uneven and inconsistent, but far more importantly, very dishonest. They would rarely write the facts or report what really took place,” he said. “They never captured the energy of each event and it is a constant battle with them by my representatives to get an accurate count of the large crowds I draw. They know the very impressive numbers and either reduce them or don’t report them at all.”
The Des Moines Register called for Trump to leave the race following his most recent inflammatory remarks suggesting that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is only considered a war hero because he was captured.
