On Monday, three CNN employees resigned after the network retracted a story that alleged that Trump adviser Anthony Scaramucci was on the radar of the Senate Intelligence Committee for meeting with the chief executive of a $10 billion Russian investment fund. According to CNN, the piece was published before it had been properly vetted by an executive editor and the network’s legal team.
Conservative media has unsurprisingly taken this morsel and run with it, holding it up as proof that the mainstream media is out to get Trump and that non-conservative media outlets are “fake news.” On Tuesday morning, Trump did what he does every morning: Watch Fox News, get worked up about it, then tweet:
Wow, CNN had to retract big story on "Russia," with 3 employees forced to resign. What about all the other phony stories they do? FAKE NEWS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 27, 2017
Fake News CNN is looking at big management changes now that they got caught falsely pushing their phony Russian stories. Ratings way down!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 27, 2017
So they caught Fake News CNN cold, but what about NBC, CBS & ABC? What about the failing @nytimes & @washingtonpost? They are all Fake News!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 27, 2017
This morning Trump also retweeted Fox & Friends four times, and retweeted Fox News anchor Eric Bolling promoting his book Drain The Swamp, which was published today.
That Trump would seize on this story is totally in keeping with his modus operandi. But the fact that Trump is simultaneously amplifying Fox News is just as notable. Trump has yet to explain to the public the health care bill that is quickly moving through the Senate. And yet, here are the questions that Fox & Friends asked Trump on Sunday morning:
The questions from the Fox and Friends exclusive with Trump are so soft I want to put them in a pillowcase. pic.twitter.com/AKnTHV7rvo
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) June 25, 2017
Trump still botched these softballs. But this shows Trump’s calculus when dealing with the media: If you cover him critically, it’s “fake news,” but if you push his agenda, he’ll pay you back with tweets.