Fear not, America. President Donald Trump is going to keep using Twitter, and there’s nothing anyone—not even the “fake MSM”—can do to stop him.
That’s the presidential decree Trump bestowed to the world Tuesday morning amid reports that his tweets are harming his own agenda and America’s relationships around the world.
The FAKE MSM is working so hard trying to get me not to use Social Media. They hate that I can get the honest and unfiltered message out.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017
Sorry folks, but if I would have relied on the Fake News of CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, washpost or nytimes, I would have had ZERO chance winning WH
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017
Trump’s apparent frustration with media coverage of his tweets follows days of controversial posts by the commander-in-chief. Over the weekend, Trump criticized London Mayor Sadiq Khan following Saturday’s terrorist attack that left seven people dead and 48 injured for what Trump thought was his refusal to be alarmed by the mass murder. However, Khan did not say the statement Trump criticized him for—“no reason to be alarmed”—over the weekend; he said it in March after a different terrorist attack.
At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is “no reason to be alarmed!”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2017
On Monday, Trump tweeted that his executive order barring travelers from six Muslim-majority nations was indeed a “travel ban”—a claim that could potentially sink his administration’s own case before the Supreme Court over the executive order, which was struck down by lower courts due in part to Trump’s public statements about banning Muslims from entering the United States.
Deputy White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters during Monday’s press briefing that no one within the White House vets Trump’s tweets. She also called Twitter a “very important tool” for the president.
“It gives him the ability to speak directly to the people without the bias of the media filtering those communications,” she said.