President Donald Trump gave Fox News an interview Sunday night and complained he is treated "worse than" President Abraham Lincoln, who was assassinated.
The interview, billed as a virtual town hall, took place at the Lincoln Memorial, just feet away from the 19-foot tall statue of the nation's 16th president. The space is considered sacred. On its steps Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his historic "I Have a Dream" speech.
Trump's remarks were in response to a question about his attacks on reporters.
“I am greeted by a hostile press, the likes of which no President has ever seen," the nation's 45th President declared, falsely, defending his relentless and often personal attacks on reporters. "The closest would be that gentleman right up there," Trump said, pointing to Lincoln.
"They always said Lincoln – nobody got treated worse than Lincoln. I believe I am treated worse. You there, you see those press conferences, they come at me with questions that are disgraceful, to be honest. Disgraceful. Their manner of presentation and their words. And I feel if I was kind to them, I would be walked off the stage."
Trump repeatedly calls the press "the enemy of the people."
Americans on social media were outraged. Many noted President Lincoln fought the Civil War and was assassinated. Others rightly noted many other Presidents have been had to withstand harsher questioning by the press, including modern day Presidents Nixon, Ford, Obama, and both Bush 41 and Bush 43. Others noted the interview was hosted by a conservative network that is devoted to defending him 24/7.
Here are some of the responses: