Suddenly, old Getty photos of Donald Trump standing in front of an NBC logo while promoting Celebrity Apprentice are working magic again. This weirdness arrives after the president popped onto Twitter to slam the network — after NBC News reported that Rex Tillerson’s rumored “moron” jab arrived because Trump demanded a “nearly tenfold increase in the U.S. nuclear arsenal.” Naturally, Trump quickly pushed back on the report while accusing the network of “pure fiction” and being “= CNN.” He then essentially threatened to revoke NBC’s broadcast license while adding, “Bad for country!”
Fake @NBCNews made up a story that I wanted a "tenfold" increase in our U.S. nuclear arsenal. Pure fiction, made up to demean. NBC = CNN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2017
With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2017
NBC News anchor Stephanie Ruhle quickly piped up to claim, “We stand by our reporting.” She also cheekily thanked the president for “taking the time to watch,” which probably irked him to no end.
Dear @realDonaldTrump – we stand by our reporting and appreciate you taking the time to watch. https://t.co/0FShKwrPcu
— Stephanie Ruhle (@SRuhle) October 11, 2017
And as a result of Trump’s outburst, one heck of a First Amendment lecture rose up from Twitter. Naturally, CNN’s Jake Tapper brought a ton of snark to the table with one carefully-selected image.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) October 11, 2017
Others, including former GOP Congressman-turned freedom-fighting radio host Joe Walsh, were quick to point out that Trump only loves the First Amendment when it applies to him (like when he’s trashing NFL protests). And the word “fascism” also appeared, of course.
If you read the First Amendment, you would know that it is *never* appropriate to take any action against the press based on what they say. https://t.co/q0WlrHhoPR
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) October 11, 2017
Look, I'm no fan of NBC, but you can't have POTUS threatening to take their license away.
That's just wrong. https://t.co/RHWvx50QLm
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) October 11, 2017
Trump considers taking networks off air that report negative stories.
SHS last week: Trump's an "incredible advocate" of the 1st Amendment. https://t.co/HnY3tUByFK
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 11, 2017
At this rate, watching the NFL on NBC is gonna be borderline treasonous by end of Trump era.
— Philip Klein (@philipaklein) October 11, 2017
Trump threatens action against news org that displeases him.
Every GOPer should respond to Corker's claim that they know he's unfit. https://t.co/ww2eEDFOh1
— Greg Sargent (@GregTSargent) October 11, 2017
Creeping fascism. Threatening free press. This is not a drill. #maga? #resist https://t.co/RG0oOv6NMJ
— HG Tomato 🍅 (@HGTomato) October 11, 2017
https://twitter.com/KFILE/status/918115018633342979
Also, there’s the little matter of NBC “creating” Trump … or at least the reality-star version of the man who was elected president. Yes, someone used “Dr. Frankenstein” as a comparison. Oh boy.
Trump v NBC :: Monster v Dr. Frankenstein
— Schooley (@Rschooley) October 11, 2017
https://twitter.com/AthertonKD/status/918114933266452480