‘The press is honestly out of control’: Trump lashes out on US media

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The relationship between US President Donald Trump and media is not exactly the smoothest.

Frictions between the two sides seem to have multiplied as Trump went from a presidential hopeful to become the current tenant of the White House. And the war of words that has been waged has escalated to an eruption point on Thursday when Trump engaged in a brutal attack on the press.

He slammed US media for their “dishonesty” and practice of reporting “fake news” during a White House news conference that lasted for nearly two hours.

President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a press conference in the East Room at the White House, in Washington, DC on February 16, 2017 /Photo by Riccardo Savi

While in the recent past, Trump expressed his weariness of media’s “unfair” portrayal of him, this time around he launched a relentless and blistering assault on the US media for their “disservice to the US people” and “profiting off a broken system.”

“The level of dishonesty is out of control,” Trump claimed, arguing it is “because many of our nation’s reporters and folks will not tell you the truth.”

During the conference, Trump touched on various issues, including the nomination of a new labor secretary, relations with Russia and his achievements since taking office.

However, it was his frustration about and assault on the US media that was the highlight of the event.

President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a press conference in the East Room at the White House, in Washington, DC on February 16, 2017 /Photo by Riccardo Savi

Trump mentioned the word “media” 14 times, “press” 15 times and “news” in various occasions 22 times, with overwhelming negativity.

At the beginning of his speech, he rebuked the US media for deliberately ignoring his deeds since becoming the 45th president of the US.

“They actually get it, but they don’t write it,” Trump alleged, insisting that he made dramatic improvements as he “inherited a mess” from the previous administration.

Trump went as far as naming and shaming some prominent US media outlets, such as New York Times and Wall Street Journal, for publishing “nasty” news pieces without his consent.

President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a press conference in the East Room at the White House, in Washington, DC on February 16, 2017 /Photo by Riccardo Savi

He also blamed the US media for undermining his efforts to enhance relationship with Russia, and labeled reports about his alleged secret scheme with Putin as “fake news.”

“The false, horrible, fake reporting makes it much harder to make a deal with Russia,” he said.

The 2016 presidential election has, beyond a shred of a doubt, had an impact on media practices in the US.

The impacts of this shift from neutrality and balanced reporting can now be felt through the rising tension between Trump, whose victory came as a surprise if not shock, and the media, which in most part bet on the Democratic contender Hillary Clinton.

The race between two front-runners, both of whom are scandal-stricken and had scored historically low approval ratings, was a divisive issue – especially as their stances on everything from policies in the Middle East to abortion were as stark as day and night.

President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a press conference in the East Room at the White House, in Washington, DC on February 16, 2017 /Photo by Riccardo Savi

The schism not just affected popular opinions, but also left its imprints on media outlets, which edged away from their impartiality as a highly charged political environment prevailed for months leading to the November elections.

On the campaign trail, Trump, the presidential underdog, did little to nothing to polish his image in the public sphere, giving fodder to media with shocking, reckless, sexist and racist remarks taking aim at women, immigrants, Muslim and people with disabilities among others.

After taking office, the mutual resentment continued as the gap between him and the media grew wider, leading to Thursday’s pitfall, which shows how low the relationship between the president and the fourth estate has sunk.

(Nadim Diab contributed to this report)