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Trump Unloads on CNN in First Major News Conference Since Election

Jan 11, 2017  •  Post A Comment

President-elect Donald Trump went hard after CNN on Wednesday, and had more than a few harsh words for BuzzFeed too, in his first major press conference since he won the presidential election.

“At one point, the president-elect shouted down CNN reporter Jim Acosta, labeling the cable news network as ‘fake news’ for its report that U.S. intelligence agencies had briefed the incoming president and President Obama with allegations that Russian operatives claim to have potentially compromising personal and financial information about Trump,” USA Today reports, noting: “What played out could suggest contentious times ahead for mainstream media outlets while covering the incoming administration.”

BuzzFeed, which published the 35-page classified document on its site as part of its coverage, earned even more scorn. “Trump described the classified report as ‘false and fake and never happened’ and called BuzzFeed a ‘failing pile of garbage. Writing it, I think they are going to suffer the consequences,'” USA Today reports.

Variety notes that Trump told Acosta, CNN’s senior White House correspondent, “Your organization is terrible,” and “You are fake news!” in response to an attempt by Acosta to get a question answered by Trump.

Variety notes that CNN released a statement after the press conference in which the network said: “We are fully confident in our reporting. It represents the core of what the First Amendment protects, informing the people of the inner workings of their government; in this case, briefing materials prepared for President Obama and President-elect Trump last week.”

The CNN statement adds: “We made it clear that we were not publishing any of the details of the 35-page document because we have not corroborated the report’s allegations. Given that members of the Trump transition team have so vocally criticized our reporting, we encourage them to identify, specifically, what they believe to be inaccurate.”

3 Comments

  1. Two things for the USA Today reporter to consider.

    First, the characterization of the Acosta incident is typical of the 24/7 media bias. Here you have a reporter shouting over everyone else and interrupting someone who is trying call on a reporter. Yet, USA Today writes it as Trump “shouting down” the reporter.

    Now, I’m not saying Trump didn’t deal with Acosta aggressively, but who was the initial aggressor? Would there have been any “shouting down” if Acosta had not made a spectacle of himself?

    Second, Jake Tapper is Buzzfeed’s fluffer.

    This is how these things work. This is, in fact, exactly what the Podesta eMails illustrated. The media is a cozy, friendly ally of the Democrat Party and they work together to achieve common goals. This is yet another example.

    CNN put its story out with the express understanding is that it would provide a reason for some other news organization to unleash a basket full full of rumors and web fantasy they’d spent more than a year trying to substantiate without success.

    We will see more and more of this sort of media collusion from here.

  2. CNN brought this on themselves. From now on, CNN will forever be referred to as FNN, “The Fake News Network”. That is so sad. When Ted Turner started CNN, it was started with actual “reporting”, not commentary disguised as reporting. I feel sorry for the employees at CNN that had nothing to do with any “fake news”. Their resumes will always be tainted when they list a former employer as CNN.

  3. Fake News CNN.

    Well, thank God Fox News is real.

    Oh, wait.

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