Donald Trump Renews His Attack On The Media Despite Funding An Organization That Plants ‘Fake News'[Update]
President Donald Trump is no friend to mainstream media organizations, and it must be said that many new outlets are negative when reporting Trump stories. Trump’s media strategy is simple, any news story that is critical of him is branded as “fake news.” Last week, President Trump even used his Twitter account to declare that the mainstream media is “a joke” and that his Twitter feed was the only source of truth. Yesterday, Trump enjoyed the first real legislative victory of his presidency when both Houses passed his tax reform bill, even then Trump could not resist taking pot shots at the media.
Trump once again called the media “fake news” and claimed that the media as in league with the Democrats. Freedom of speech and a free and independent press are the cornerstones of democracy, and yet President Trump maintains a constant attack on any outlet that is critical of him. As reported by the Inquisitr last week, Senator John McCain said that Trump’s attacks on the media “empowers repressive regimes.” McCain’s comments came in the wake of a report from the Committee to Protect Journalists, who said that for the second year in a row, record numbers of journalists have been jailed for their reporting.
The Tax Cuts are so large and so meaningful, and yet the Fake News is working overtime to follow the lead of their friends, the defeated Dems, and only demean. This is truly a case where the results will speak for themselves, starting very soon. Jobs, Jobs, Jobs!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 20, 2017
McCain was not the only politician to blast President Trump’s treatment of the media. As reported by the Guardian, former British prime minister, David Cameron, also criticized Trump. Cameron, the former leader of the U.K. conservatives, said that Trump’s attacks on the media “undermined democracy.”
It would appear, that despite his antipathy to fake news, President Trump has provided funding for the organization that tried to plant fake news stories about Senate hopeful Roy Moore in the Washington Post. According to Newsweek, the Trump Foundation has made donations to “Project Veritas,” a right-wing group dedicated to undermining liberal organizations.
Project Veritas proudly proclaims that its role is to “uncover the truth by investigating the mainstream media.” Strange then that the project, headed by James O’Keefe, should employ an undercover operative to attempt to entrap the Washington Post into printing a false story about Roy Moore.
As reported by the BBC, a Project Veritas operative pretended to have been made pregnant and forced into an abortion by Roy Moore when she was just 15-years-old. It can only be assumed that Project Veritas’s ultimate aim was to expose the story as “fake news” after it had been printed by the Washington Post. This would have cast doubt on the numerous allegations made against Moore by a string of women. The plan backfired because the Post smelled a rat and their usual fact-checking exposed the story as fake.
Of course, there is nothing to suggest that President Trump knew anything about the Project Veritas plans. However, as reported by Think Progress, the Donald J. Trump foundation made two $10,000 donations to Project Veritas in 2015. Whatever your views on President Trump, it is incredible that a president who constantly cries “fake news” has provided funding for an organization responsible for trying to plant fake news stories.
President Trump’s links to this organization, his constant denigration of the media, and his Twitter claims, combine to show one thing. Donald Trump wants us to believe that only he can be trusted, and that would be a very dangerous place to be. Just ask the journalists jailed in China, Russia, and Turkey, for speaking out against their leaders.
Was @foxandfriends just named the most influential show in news? You deserve it – three great people! The many Fake News Hate Shows should study your formula for success!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 21, 2017
As dawn breaks over Washington on the shortest day of the year President Trump has started his day with new Twitter attacks on the “fake news” media. In one message Trump praised Fox News, suggesting that other media outlets should study Fox News‘ “formula for success.” In the other Trump once again claims that the fake news media is in league with the Democrats.
One thing seems clear, Donald Trump is set to continue his war against media organizations.
