President Donald Trump blasted the media during a commencement speech to United States Coast Guard Academy graduates on Wednesday morning.
The president’s remarks appeared to be in reference to the firestorm that has erupted since he surprisingly fired former FBI Director James Comey last week and the revelations on Tuesday in the New York Times that alleged Trump asked Comey to halt the investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
Trump also appeared to be trying to inspire the graduates.
“Over the course of your life, you will find that things are not always fair,” Trump said. “You will find that things happen to you that you do not deserve and that are not always warranted. But you have to put your head down and fight, fight, fight.”
Trump continued:
“Never, ever, ever give up; things will work out just fine,” Trump said. “Look at the way I’ve been treated lately, especially by the media. No politician in history … has been treated worse or more unfairly. You can’t let them get you down. You can’t let the critics and the naysayers get in the way of your dreams.”
Trump, in commencement speech for U.S. Coast Guard Academy grads, complains about how he's been treated by the media pic.twitter.com/HIPXYHi3jc
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) May 17, 2017
After pausing for applause from the crowd, Trump smiled and said: “I guess that’s why I won.”
Trump also told the graduates about the “tremendous amount” of things he’s accomplished since winning the election—pointing to the appointment of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, among other things.
But Trump wasn’t done with complaining about the media.
“The people understand what I’m doing, and that’s the most important thing,” Trump said. “I didn’t get elected to serve the Washington media or special interests. I got elected to serve the forgotten men and women of our country, and that’s what I’m doing.”
Trump has a strong disdain for journalists. In fact, a memo by Comey allegedly says that Trump told the former FBI director that, as the Times describes it, he “should consider putting reporters in prison for publishing classified information.”