President Donald Trump vilified the press again Friday, tweeting that the media are “the enemy of the American people” and specifically calling out several major news organizations.
Earlier, Trump tweeted and then quickly deleted a slightly different version of the tweet. The revised version includes mentions of ABC and CBS in addition to the other news outlets. All of these outlets have reported on significant controversies involving Trump and his administration, including claims that his team communicated with Russian officials throughout the presidential campaign.
The White House didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
Trump’s tweet drew swift criticism from reporters:
And NBC News presidential historian Michael Beschloss pointed out how Trump’s rhetoric echoed President Richard Nixon’s during the Watergate scandal:
Trump’s tweet came one day after he spent a major chunk of a meandering 77-minute press conference disparaging the press. He called the media “out of control” and “dishonest.” He also blamed what he called the “fake media” for former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s resignation, claiming reporters treated the former general “very unfairly.”
He also frequently attacks publications on his Twitter account and has claimed that polls showing negative ratings for him are “fake news.”