Another day, another angry Twitter tirade from President Donald Trump. This time, POTUS was calling out The Senate Intelligence Committee for not looking into... on three, everyone!
One, two, three: It's fake news! (I don't think I can roll my eyes any harder.)
In the early hours of Thursday morning, Trump took to Twitter (shocker) to express his frustrations with the committee for not looking into the "Fake News Networks." The Daily Dot reports that these pointed Tweets seem to have been triggered by an NBC News report published on October 4th stating that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson "was on the verge of resigning this past summer" and called the president a “moron.”
Tillerson denies the claim, saying, "I have never considered leaving this post." He has neither confirmed nor denied calling Trump a moron, though a spokeswoman denied the remark on his behalf.
In his first tweet, Trump writes, "Why Isn't the Senate Intel Committee looking into the Fake News Networks in OUR country to see why so much of our news is just made up-FAKE!"
Why Isn't the Senate Intel Committee looking into the Fake News Networks in OUR country to see why so much of our news is just made up-FAKE!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 5, 2017
About an hour later he followed up the previous tweet, writing, "Rex Tillerson never threatened to resign. This is Fake News put out by @NBCNews. Low news and reporting standards. No verification from me."
Rex Tillerson never threatened to resign. This is Fake News put out by @NBCNews. Low news and reporting standards. No verification from me.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 5, 2017
Seeing as how The Senate Intelligence Committee is "one of several federal entities investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 election", it's likely that they have bigger fish to fry than news reports that aren't to Trump's liking.
As Chris Cillizza of CNN notes, it's nothing new for the POTUS to have a fraught relationship with the press. As CNN mentions President Barack Obama's final news conference of his presidency, the relationship between the POTUS and the press isn't supposed to be chummy:
"I have enjoyed working with all of you. That does not, of course, mean that I've enjoyed every story that you have filed, but that's the point of this relationship. You're not supposed to be sycophants, you're supposed to be skeptics, you're supposed to ask me tough questions," Obama said. "You're not supposed to be complimentary, but you're supposed to cast a critical eye on folks who hold enormous power and make sure that we are accountable to the people who sent us here, and you have done that."
However, Trump's issues with the fourth estate often seem to transcend annoyance and tread into the territory of opposing the first amendment. And that's something that many who value a robust, free press are concerned about.