President Donald Trump is continuing his feud against the media. On Sunday morning, he tweeted a video showing him punching a man with the CNN logo superimposed on his head during a WWE wrestling match.
The video follows Trump’s series of tweets Saturday targeting Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, co-hosts of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, and renewing his resentment against what he called the “fake and fraudulent” media. He defended his amount of tweeting as “modern day presidential” and called out CNN saying, “I am thinking about changing the name #FakeNews CNN to #FraudNewsCNN!”
The original video footage is from WrestleMania 23 in 2007 when Trump went up against WWE CEO Vince McMahon during a “Battle of the Billionaires” match. Both Trump and McMahon chose wrestlers to represent them in the ring.
While the origins of who created the video are not clear, the Associated Press reported that the video was posted several days ago on Reddit with the title “Trump takes down fake news.” The user — who reportedly has a history of posting videos with anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant language — wrote Sunday about being “honored” that Trump used the video.
#FraudNewsCNN #FNN pic.twitter.com/WYUnHjjUjg
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 2, 2017
The FAKE & FRAUDULENT NEWS MEDIA is working hard to convince Republicans and others I should not use social media – but remember, I won….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 1, 2017
….the 2016 election with interviews, speeches and social media. I had to beat #FakeNews, and did. We will continue to WIN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 1, 2017
I am thinking about changing the name #FakeNews CNN to #FraudNewsCNN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 1, 2017
My use of social media is not Presidential – it’s MODERN DAY PRESIDENTIAL. Make America Great Again!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 1, 2017
CNN has responded with the following statement:
“It is a sad day when the President of the United States encourages violence against reporters. Clearly, Sarah Huckabee Sanders lied when she said the President had never done so. Instead of preparing for his overseas trip, his first meeting with Vladimir Putin, dealing with North Korea and working on his health care bill, he is instead involved in juvenile behavior far below the dignity of his office. We will keep doing our jobs. He should start doing his.”
CNN Communications also directly replied to Trump’s tweet with a quote from Sanders during a press briefing on Thursday: “The President in no way form or fashion has ever promoted or encouraged violence. If anything, quite the contrary.
“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
A White House aide appeared on ABC’s This Week on Sunday, insisting that the tweet is not a threat. “I think that no one would perceive that as a threat,” said homeland security adviser Tom Bossert. “I hope they don’t. But I do think that he’s beaten up in a way on cable platforms that he has a right to respond to.” CNN contributor Ana Navarro also appeared on the show where she said the tweet “is an incitement to violence. He is going to get someone killed in the media.”
Ohio Gov. John Kasich expressed on This Week that he’s hoping Trump’s family will speak to him about his tweeting and say “knock it off.” He added, “In Washington we have bigger issues than people being outraged by somebody else’s tweet. They need to look themselves in the mirror and figure out whether they’re serving the country or they’re serving their party or their own interests. … The coarseness doesn’t help anybody.”
NEW: Homeland Security Adviser Thomas Bossert on Trump’s CNN tweet: “No one would perceive that as a threat. I hope they don’t.” #ThisWeek pic.twitter.com/BfrWWt7buM
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) July 2, 2017
.@JohnKasich on Trump’s tweets: “I’m hoping that his family’s going to talk to him, and they’ll say ‘knock it off.'” https://t.co/KIxFUHt1IJ pic.twitter.com/tFJBv2ppOQ
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) July 2, 2017
Bruce Brown, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, made the following statement: “We condemn the president’s threat of physical violence against journalists. This tweet is beneath the office of the presidency. Sadly, it is not beneath this president.”
Brown added, “No one should be threatened with physical harm for doing their jobs…Freedom of the press is a cornerstone of our democracy. The press are the people’s window into the halls of power, and most importantly, they are the people’s check on that power. When the president attacks the press, he attacks the people.”
Watch the original “Battle of the Billionaires” footage below.
