Donald Trump Supports Republican Nominees, Attacks Barack Obama & Hilary Clinton In Morning Tweetstorm
In an early morning tweetstorm, President Donald Trump expressed support for two Republican nominees, attacked Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, praised Fox News, while criticizing the rest of the media for “fake” reports based on anonymous sources.
In the first tweet of the morning, Trump called Andrew Gillum (Democrat, serving his first term as mayor of Tallahassee since 2014 and currently Florida Democratic Party’s nominee for governor of Florida) a “failed socialist” mayor, urging Floridians to vote for his Republican opponent, Ron DeSantis.
Not only did Congressman Ron DeSantis easily win the Republican Primary, but his opponent in November is his biggest dream….a failed Socialist Mayor named Andrew Gillum who has allowed crime & many other problems to flourish in his city. This is not what Florida wants or needs!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2018
As CNBC observed, DeSantis is a pro-Trump conservative, who has been enjoying the president’s support for months. Andrew Gillum responded to Trump’s message, tweeting that “decency, hope, and leadership” are what the United States needs.
What our state and country needs is decency, hope, and leadership. If you agree, join us at https://t.co/fm0ODFFGWU. Also, @ me next time, @realDonaldTrump. https://t.co/59dQy8RLsm
— Andrew Gillum (@AndrewGillum) August 29, 2018
In the second tweet of the morning, Trump quoted Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, who said that former President Barack Obama and “his people” did “scary stuff.” Carlson was repeating Trump and GOP’s claims that the FBI was, under the guidance of then-President Obama, spying on the Trump campaign.
“The Obama people did something that’s never been done…They spied on a rival presidential campaign. Would it be OK if Trump did it next? I am losing faith that our system is on the level. I’m beginning to think it is rotten & corrupt. Scary stuff Obama did.” @TuckerCarlson DOJ
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2018
As Time reported, White House allies and supporters have been promoting “spygate” ever since the inception of Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian election interference and alleging that the FBI “penetrated” the Trump campaign. The POTUS himself previously referred to “spygate” as one of “the biggest political scandals in history.”
In the third tweet of the morning, the president again parroted the conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson, who alleged that Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party colluded with Russia and bought information from the Kremlin.
“Hillary Clinton and the DNC paid for information from the Russian government to use against her government – there’s no doubt about that!” @TuckerCarlson
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2018
Carlson and the POTUS were, in part, referring to what has evolved into a popular right-wing talking point: A theory that the 2016 Trump Tower meeting was, in fact, a “setup” by Hillary Clinton and Russian operatives executed in an effort to entrap Trump. Real Clear Investigations, for instance, concluded that Clinton, the DOJ, and the Kremlin conspired in order to entrap Trump.
The president then went on to applaud the Republican Party for “big election wins,” adding that his slogan, “Make America Great Again,” is slowly morphing into “Keep America Great.”
Big Election Wins last night! The Republican Party will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Actually, it is happening faster than anybody thought possible! It is morphing into KEEP AMERICA GREAT!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2018
In the following two tweets, Trump slammed the American media once again (with the exception of Fox News), claiming that news outlets are reporting “fiction,” citing “anonymous sources” which “do not exist.”
“Anonymous Sources are really starting to BURN the media.” @FoxNews The fact is that many anonymous sources don’t even exist. They are fiction made up by the Fake News reporters. Look at the lie that Fake CNN is now in. They got caught red handed! Enemy of the People!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2018
What President Trump is clearly referring to in his criticism of CNN, is – as Glenn Greenwald put it in an op-ed for the Intercept – a “credible” accusation that CNN’s blockbuster story in which the outlet allegedly falsely cited anonymous sources claiming that Michael Cohen intended to tell special counsel Robert Mueller that he was present when Donald Trump was told, in advance, about Trump Jr.’s meeting with the Russians.
The Washington Post and the New York Post, both of which reported on CNN’s story, Greenwald pointed out, later retracted their own stories after CNN’s “source” Michael Cohen’s attorney Lanny Davis admitted that in essence, his “confirmation” was false.
“CNN, however, has retracted nothing,” Greenwald wrote, adding that “when it comes to discrediting journalism in the U.S., thousands of mean Donald Trump tweets about Chuck Todd and Wolf Blitzer can’t accomplish even a fraction of what this media behavior has done to themselves.”
When you see “anonymous source,” stop reading the story, it is fiction!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2018
In the last tweet of this morning’s tweetstorm, President Trump endorsed Republican Martha McSally, calling the U.S. Representative for Arizona’s 2nd congressional district an “extraordinary woman.”
Martha McSally is an extraordinary woman. She was a very talented fighter jet pilot and is now a highly respected member of Congress. She is Strong on Crime, the Border and our under siege 2nd Amendment. Loves our Military and our Vets. Has my total and complete Endorsement!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2018
As The Guardian reported, McSally has “fended off competitive challenges from the far-right” and is now preparing to challenge Kyrsten Sinema, a Democratic congresswoman from Phoenix. This race, according to The Guardian, could determine who controls the Senate in November.
