US President Donald Trump Punches CNN; Sparks Debate Over The Internet
#FraudNewsCNN #FNN pic.twitter.com/WYUnHjjUjg
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 2, 2017
US President Donald Trump sparked the fierce debate on Sunday while posting the video on his Twitter account. The video is now in the news for inciting violence against the journalist by posting a doctored video clip showing President Donald Trump bashing the head of the figure representing CNN.
The waging war of Donald Trump against media had put at the receiving end of the heat from Democrats and some Republicans, who warned that the President’s conduct could endanger reporters as he seeks to undermine public trust reporting about his administration.
“Violence & violent imagery to bully the press must be rejected,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., wrote in one of the many comments from elected officials posted on Twitter.
Attacking on the President Trump’s video, Presidential historians suggested that these attacks on media are lowering the bar of the appropriate conduct in fighting perceived media enemies.
Meanwhile, White House aides and supporters defended the president’s Twitter post as a pointed but harmless barb at what he sees as hostile press corps. Some said the reaction demonstrated the inflated self-regard of reporters and their inability to take a joke.
Trump, from his Bedminster golf resort in northern New Jersey, defended his use of social media, saying it befitted a “modern day” president.
The latest salvo from Trump came as questions about the political climate for journalists, and their safety, have swirled amid incidents in which politicians have assaulted reporters or had them arrested. During the campaign, some reporters assigned to cover Trump, including ones from CNN, were cursed and threatened by his supporters, who echoed him with chants of “fake news.”
In a statement, the Committee to Protect Journalists said that targeting media outlets “creates a chilling effect and fosters an environment where further harassment or even physical attack is deemed acceptable.”