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The official Twitter account of President Donald Trump since before the election at @realDonaldTrump made it clear what he thinks about the media Friday in a tweet that was quickly deleted, but captured by quick followers.
a tweet so nakedly malevolent and fascist on its face that even @realDonaldTrump realized he'd gone too far and del… https://t.co/6h5Qzfp99w— Anthony Oliveira (@Anthony Oliveira) 1487367647.0
While many were speculating that he deleted it after someone close to him told him it was too extreme, the tweet turned up 16 minutes later and edited to explain the disappearance.
The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1487368102.0
It appears that Trump was merely searching for more media outlets to add to his enemies list.
Donald Trump tweets: The 'fake news media' is the enemy of the American people https://t.co/UYpqI3w42Lhttps://t.co/9hJYc8MRPj
— CNN (@CNN) February 17, 2017
Trump has been waging a rhetorical war against the media since the beginning of his campaign, and it appears that his goal is to exacerbate hostilities. He has called entire outlets "fake news" and assailed specific reporters while on the campaign trail.
One such altercation came when CNN reported that intelligence officials possessed evidence of Russians acquiring information damaging to Trump. The president and his allies went on an all-out assault on the news channel for weeks afterward. It doesn't appear that he's too eager to find common ground with the "enemy of the American people."
