Trump toys with violent imagery in his ‘fake news’ feud

US President Donald told a rally of supporters Saturday night in Washington that he would not be silenced by “the fake media.” Hours later, Trump tweeted a faked video of himself participating in a fake fight. The 2007 video showed Trump performing in a so-called pro wrestling show, knocking down a man and pretending to beat him on the ground. In the altered 28-second clip, which had apparently been circulating online, the victim’s head is replaced with the logo of cable news channel CNN. After being tweeted on his personal account, @realDonaldTrump, with more than 33 million followers, the video was re-tweeted on the official presidential Twitter feed, @POTUS.

Trump’s latest social media salvo extends his daily attacks on major US news outlets, a pattern set already during his presidential campaign. Trump coined the invective “fake news” against CNN and other major networks, as well as The New York Times, Washington Post and others. Since Thursday, he had issued daily insults about Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough, hosts of “Morning Joe” on MSNBC.

Those outbursts drew overwhelming criticism, often describing such behaviour as beneath the dignity of Trump’s office. The response on Sunday was similar. In a statement, CNN called it a “sad day when the president of the United States encourages violence against reporters.” Congressman Frank Pallone, a Democrat from New Jersey, accused Trump of “promoting violence against the press.” Trump’s own Republicans, who had already increased their criticism of the president in response to the “Morning Joe” insults, did not take his side either.

“Exactly what I meant when I said, StopTheTwitterTantrums,” Congressman Mike Coffman, a Colorado Republican, tweeted on Sunday. Conservative commentator David Frum, a fierce Trump critic, quoted Shakespeare – “These violent delights have violent ends” – and urged donations to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). There was little defence of Trump’s Twitter video from outside of his administration.

Tom Price, a cabinet member and secretary of health and human services, argued Sunday in an NBC News interview that Trump’s tweeting was of little interest to “the American people” with Congress still labouring to pass potential major changes to the health insurance system. Asked why Trump was not more focused on policy, Price countered: “I think that he is. Absolutely. The fact of the matter is that he can do more than one thing at a time.”

After Trump’s social media barrage against “Morning Joe,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders charged that the two hosts and other commentators and celebrities had long issued a stream of insults. These included: “utterly stupid, personality disorder, mentally ill, constant personal attacks, calling multiple members [of the administration] liars to their faces.” In late May, comedian Kathy Griffin posted an image of herself holding a bloody effigy of Trump’s severed head, which received near-universal condemnation.

Trump himself called it “sick” and tweeted that Griffin “should be ashamed of herself,” describing the scene as upsetting to his children. The spectre of violence became all too real on June 14 when the third-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives, Louisiana Congressman Steve Scalise, was critically wounded with four other people when a gunman with a history of left-wing politics opened fire on Republicans playing baseball in a park outside the capital. “We will not be intimidated by threats, acts of violence or assaults on our democracy,” Trump said afterwards.

Huckabee Sanders on Thursday was asked if Trump, despite last month’s shooting, was contributing to a dangerous political environment. “The president in no way, form or fashion has ever promoted or encouraged violence,” she said. “If anything, quite the contrary. And he was simply pushing back and defending himself.”