Trump sets internet ablaze after calling the media ‘the enemy of the American people’

Donald Trump on Friday posted, then deleted, a tweet once again berating the “fake news media” and insisting the press “is the enemy of the American people.”
“Sick!” Trump added in the post.
Several minutes later, the President of the United States reposted the tweet, this time without “Sick!” and with an expanded list of media outlets. That new tweet remains on his timeline.
The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 17, 2017
Alas, the internet is forever; Huffington Post’s Eliot Nelson posted a screengrab of the original post on Twitter.
By the transitive property I’m pretty sure the president of the United States just accused us of treason. pic.twitter.com/5N0ObYd7y5
— Eliot Nelson (@eliotnelson) February 17, 2017
Trump’s latest musing on the fourth estate comes one day after his wide-reaching and widely criticized press conference wherein the president tried—and failed—to explain why he spreads false information while simultaneously demonizing the press for writing what he calls “fake news.”
And for good measure, some reactions:
.@realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/IBWif5wexa
— Marlow Stern (@MarlowNYC) February 17, 2017
Need a good designer for my ENEMY OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE tattoo
— Spencer Ackerman (@attackerman) February 17, 2017
the correct interpretation of the president's deleted anti-media tweet is that it is time to go to happy hour
— Justin Sink (@justinsink) February 17, 2017
Newsrooms rn pic.twitter.com/ogp0biWMPP
— Sarah Mimms (@SarahMMimms) February 17, 2017
Mr. President, media is plural. "The FAKE NEWS media ARE the enemy of the American people." https://t.co/sbiNvdyiUE
— Jonathan Weisman (@jonathanweisman) February 17, 2017
Sick! was def the problematic part of that tweet.
— Kate Nocera (@KateNocera) February 17, 2017
The media is "the enemy of the American people." … Well, at least I got a new Twitter bio.
— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) February 17, 2017
Do I get any benefits as an enemy of the American people? Maybe a dramatic sable cloak, or a foreboding soundtrack, or some money maybe?
— Kelly Weill (@KELLYWEILL) February 17, 2017
tbh you are all my enemy
— Ashley Feinberg (@ashleyfeinberg) February 17, 2017
Step 1: Declare the media and the Intelligence Community your enemy.
Step 2: …
Step 3: Unity!
— Ben (@BenHowe) February 17, 2017
btw I have always been very clear I was an enemy of the American people, so, jokes on him
— i have died (@ChrisCaesar) February 17, 2017
…Jefferson said nice-ass things about us so for all you typically founding-father-idoloizing fools who like to cheer on "media-is-bad-ism"
— Asawin Suebsaeng (@swin24) February 17, 2017
And here I was thinking it was more Joseph McCarthy https://t.co/EaYjkZ0DaP
— Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) February 17, 2017
imagine being so insecure that when you're not doing so hot you MAKE A CONSTITUTIONALLY PROTECTED INDUSTRY AN ENEMY. that'd be my play too.
— Zack Stovall (@ZStovall) February 17, 2017
To be fair, if a group was proving day in and day out that I was a huge piece of shit liar, I would call them an enemy too.
— Germain Lussier (@GermainLussier) February 17, 2017
Even “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough went off on Trump on Twitter:
Only a FAKE PRESIDENT would declare the First Amendment to be the enemy of the American people. https://t.co/ZFZvlTf8Az
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) February 17, 2017
It's not even Saturday morning and someone is already losing his shit. https://t.co/ZFZvlTf8Az
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) February 17, 2017
Someone is cranky that Gallup has him at 38% and Pew has him at 39%. So now he's resorting to FAKE TWEETS. SAD! https://t.co/ZFZvlTf8Az
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) February 17, 2017
NOT FAIR! NO PRESS! NO COURTS! NO BAD POLLS!!!! #38% #39% #1stAmendment #JudicialReview #ChecksAndBalances #Madison #Hamilton #USA pic.twitter.com/ExnhrbymoU
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) February 17, 2017