Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post/Getty
PresidentDonald Trumpfinally found something nice to say about CNN — compared to NBC News.
When NBC White House correspondent Peter Alexander on Wednesday asked Trump about hisconfusing Dayton, Ohio, with Toledo, Ohio,following a mass shooting in the former city, the presidentlaunched into a rantdecrying the credibility of NBC News.
“This guy is the most biased reporter, NBC. You know, I made a lot of money for NBC withThe Apprentice, and I used to like them, but they are the most biased,” Trump said, referring to Alexander.
He continued, “You should be able to ask a question, same question, in a better way.”
Alexander had brought up Trump’s mix-up in regard to former Vice PresidentJoe Biden, with Alexander asking if it was “fair game” for Trump to take swipes at the Democrat’s gaffes considering he’d made notable ones of his own.
“You said that the mass shooting happened in Toledo when it happened in Dayton, so is that fair game?” Alexander asked. (Trump made the mistake in a televised speech shortly after the shooting, saying, “May God bless the memory of those who perished in Toledo.”)
Trump seemingly ignored the specifics of Alexander’s question and instead continued to diss Biden, repeatedly saying the former vice president “doesn’t have it.”
Trump then kicked off yet another rant aimed at the media, this time starting withTheNew York Times, a favorite target, before circling back to lash out once again at NBC News. He insisted both NBC and theTimeswould be “out of business” in decades.
“I think CNN has more credibility than NBC News,” Trump said.
NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty
Winding himself up, Trump then turned his attention to CNN, telling a reporter for the outlet, “Did you hear what I said? I said, ‘You have more credibility than this guy.’ And that’s not saying much. You know why? ‘Cause I don’t think you have very much credibility but I will tell you this: NBC, I think, has less credibility than CNN. That’s not saying much, but that’s the way I feel.”
Prior to being questioned about his Ohio slip-up, Trump had responded to Alexander as he did any other reporter.
The president has taken many a jab at Vice President Biden, who isa frontrunner to challenge Trumpin the 2020 election.
Still, Alexander says it’s his duty not to let Trump’s attacks affect his ability to do his job.
“The president’s regular attacks on me and my journalist colleagues are intended to undermine the work we do and to throw us off our game,” he says. “I’ve been brushed off, ignored or attacked more times than I can count. But that’s doing your job. Being a journalist doesn’t mean being popular; it means asking tough questions no matter who’s in power.”
source: people.com
