Predsjednik Donald Trump kritizirao je CNN u srijedu zbog njihovog naširoko kritiziranog izvješća objavljenog krajem srpnja, rekavši da je “aljkavi” Carl Bernstein — jedan od autora izvješća — čovjek “koji živi u prošlosti i razmišlja poput degenerične budale”.
Trumpovi komentari došli su kao odgovor na izvještaj od anonimnog izvora CNN-a u kojem se tvrdi da je Michael Cohen bio spreman reći posebnom istražitelju Robertu Muelleru da je tadašnji kandidat Trump unaprijed znao o sastanku u Trump Toweru između nekoliko osoba povezanih s njim i ruskom odvjetnicom u srpnju 2016. godine. Lanny Davis, Cohenov odvjetnik, priznao je ovaj tjedan da je on bio jedan od izvora tog izvješća i da to nije bila istina.
CNN is being torn apart from within based on their being caught in a major lie and refusing to admit the mistake. Sloppy @carlbernstein, a man who lives in the past and thinks like a degenerate fool, making up story after story, is being laughed at all over the country! Fake News
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2018
CNN, koji je šutio usprkos oštrim kritikama upućenih izvješću, brzo je reagirao na Trumpov tweet:
Make no mistake, Mr. President, CNN does not lie. We report the news. And we report when people in power tell lies. CNN stands by our reporting and our reporters. There may be many fools in this story but @carlbernstein is not one of them.
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) August 29, 2018
Ovdje je samo nekoliko od tisuća odgovora koje je CNN primio kao reakciju na svoj tweet:
CNN stonewalled calls for clarification and competing reports from the Wash Post before answering a tweet from Trump. Because CNN depends on Trump.
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) August 29, 2018
WTF CNN? 'There may be many fools in this story but @carlbernstein is not one of them' https://t.co/H8Vy45pItV
— Lorrie Goldstein (@sunlorrie) August 30, 2018
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha— wait a minute? Are they really serious? How stupid do they think their viewers are? (Don't answer.) https://t.co/rntoeVdQyc
— Roger Kimball (@rogerkimball) August 30, 2018
This is hilarious, they are making it worse than redacting the story LOL https://t.co/MB1pj0ULaQ
— Johnny Jet (@Johnnyjet_) August 30, 2018
every word you say is a lie, including "and" and "the." https://t.co/lGNaoMlJxV
— Michael Malice (@michaelmalice) August 30, 2018
You reported in a story sourced to Lanny Davis that Lanny Davis refused to comment on the story. That was a lie. And not only did you deliberately lie to push an agenda, you have thus far refused to even acknowledge the lie, let alone apologize for it. https://t.co/LR21bPgeu6
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) August 30, 2018
When you're explaining, you're losing. https://t.co/tKMebF1S8c
— David Martosko (@dmartosko) August 30, 2018
This tweet in and of itself is a lie. CNN, and @jimsciutto specifically, claimed that Lanny Davis declined comment on the story when it turns out that he was an anonymous source for the story. https://t.co/WFDPPVVhCR
— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) August 29, 2018
If CNN said it did lie, it would be the #FakeNewsParadox. https://t.co/4Ft5rs7u1U
— James Taranto (@jamestaranto) August 29, 2018
.@CNN, you just lied again by saying you don’t lie. You said Lanny Davis declined to comment when he was in fact a source. Are you kidding me with this BS. Do you have any journalistic credibility at all? I mean seriously??? You’re a joke!!! https://t.co/LKNbxY4DGL
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) August 30, 2018
Trump je CNN-u uputio još jedan udarac nakon njihovog odgovora:
“Lanny Davis admits being anonymous source in CNN Report.” @BretBaier Oh well, so much for CNN saying it wasn’t Lanny. No wonder their ratings are so low, it’s FAKE NEWS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 30, 2018
Interceptov Glenn Greenwald objasnio je zašto je posljednji skandal oko CNN-ovog izvješća značajan:
For those suggesting the CNN scandal is insignificant – that CNN getting caught telling an outright lie to the world about its sourcing, and now refusing to acknowledge it, is trivial – watch how they described the importance this story when they first unveiled it: pic.twitter.com/CKp8tDCoAH
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) August 29, 2018
