President Trump said Thursday that “mainstream media” and “fake news” are to blame for much of the anger over politics that's seen in America.
“A very big part of the Anger we see today in our society is caused by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media that I refer to as Fake News. It has gotten so bad and hateful that it is beyond description,” Trump said on Twitter Thursday morning. “Mainstream Media must clean up its act, FAST!”
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A very big part of the Anger we see today in our society is caused by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media that I refer to as Fake News. It has gotten so bad and hateful that it is beyond description. Mainstream Media must clean up its act, FAST!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 25, 2018
Trump's message runs counter to that of Democrats and many in the media who say it's Trump's political rhetoric that has led to rising anger in the country. Some argued that Trump's rhetoric against the press may have contributed to the killing of dissident and columnist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey, and has made it harder for the U.S. to condemn that incident.
Several suspicious packages and bombs have been sent this week to prominent Democratic figures and politicians, as well as the New York offices of CNN and to Robert De Niro’s production company in New York City.
Trump often attacks CNN for being fake news and covering his administration inaccurately. De Niro is a very vocal critic of the president.
Other vocal critics of the president were addressed suspicious packages that contained “potentially explosive devices,” including Democratic Reps. Maxine Waters of California, Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., former President Barack Obama, former Trump opponent in the 2016 presidential election Hillary Clinton, and Democrat mega-donor George Soros.
A package was also addressed to former Attorney General Eric Holder, who earlier this month called for violence to Republicans, but it bounced back to the return address, which was Wasserman Schultz’s office address.