President Donald Trump on Sunday tweeted a video of himself physically attacking a figure with CNN’s logo edited over their face.
#FraudNewsCNN #FNN pic.twitter.com/WYUnHjjUjg
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 2, 2017
CNN’s Brian Stelter noted that the video appeared four days ago on a Reddit thread in the website’s forum about Trump.
The anti-CNN video Trump tweeted showed up on a Reddit thread 4 days ago… https://t.co/0LiYgKvjdf
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) July 2, 2017
CNN’s communications team responded with a tweet citing deputy White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ claim on Thursday that Trump “in no way, form or fashion has ever promoted or encouraged violence.”
"The President in no way form or fashion has ever promoted or encouraged violence. If anything, quite the contrary." – @SHSanders45 6/29/17
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) July 2, 2017
In a statement released later Saturday morning, CNN said Trump is “involved in juvenile behavior far below the dignity of his office” and said Sanders “lied.”
“We will keep doing our jobs,” CNN said. “He should start doing his.”
Full statement from CNN pic.twitter.com/rpfMUex7gw
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) July 2, 2017
Trump’s tweet came amid a renewal of his attacks on the media.
At a re-election fundraiser on Wednesday, Trump said it would be “fun” to sue CNN, who he called “phonies” and “horrible human beings.”
On Thursday morning, Trump attacked “Morning Joe” host Mika Brzezinski’s appearance in the beginning of a tirade he continued for the next three days and expanded to include Brzezinski’s co-host Joe Scarborough (“Psycho Joe”), “out of control” NBC News executives and their “bad show.”
The Washington Post reported on Friday that unnamed White House advisers were frustrated with Trump’s focus on NBC News as opposed to CNN and believed his conflict with the latter has “clearer villains and heroes.”
On Saturday, Trump called CNN “garbage journalism” in yet another early-morning post.
He later claimed his “use of social media is not Presidential – it’s MODERN DAY PRESIDENTIAL.”
Trump continued his attacks on the press at an event in honor of veterans Saturday evening where he attacked the “fake media” and told attendees: “Their agenda is not your agenda.”
This post has been updated.
