President-elect Donald Trump on Monday blamed media bias for his use of Twitter, which he often harnesses to ridicule and attack celebrities, political opponents, and foreign countries.
“If the press would cover me accurate & honorably,” he said, “I would have far less reason to ‘tweet.’ Sadly, I don’t know if that will ever happen!”
If the press would cover me accurately & honorably, I would have far less reason to "tweet." Sadly, I don't know if that will ever happen!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 5, 2016
Trump is known to play the victim card with regards to the press, publicly admonishing journalists who attend his rallies, whom he often refers to as the “dishonest media.” His repeated attacks on journalists have led to some hairy situations for reporters covering his rallies, which continue despite the fact that he’s already won the presidency.
Reporters who’ve investigated his business ties in foreign countries have been accused of “attacking” him, and those who reported on the more than half dozen accusations of sexual assault and harassment were trying to “destroy his family.”
"It is, at times, getting downright scary." @JimAcosta holding up the sign with a swastika + the word "media" that was left at Trump's rally pic.twitter.com/qFCLGPAQ3x
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) October 13, 2016
The Associated Press revealed late last week that it was forced to pull a reporter off the campaign trail due to safety concerns. The reporter in question did not ask to be removed from assignment, but they were pulled because of a “dangerous situation.”
Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll said the AP was forced to pull or rotate out a “couple of people” due to “racist, sexist” attacks. She described her reporters being confronted by “the most vile language I’ve ever heard.”
In April, a Trump supporter spit on a reporter from a student newspaper at the University of Southern Indiana during a rally.
Walked near the crowd and was spat on. It didn't register to me what happened because I was tweeting. I looked up and saw people staring.
— Gabi Wy (@GabiCWy) April 28, 2016
Trump has long been criticized for his tweets, which he’s used to spread fake news and bash “haters and losers.”