CNN Fake News Cartoons

White House battles backlash after Trump tweets 'slam' of CNN

President Trump kept up his Twitter barrage against the mainstream media Sunday, saying that the "dishonest media will NEVER keep us from accomplishing our objectives" hours after he tweeted a mock video that shows him pummeling a man in a business suit whose face was obscured by the CNN logo.
It was not immediately clear who produced the 28-second video, which appears to be a doctored version of Trump's 2007 appearance on World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.
The president in the past has branded the media as "the opposition party" and "the enemy of the American people." He has taken particular aim at CNN, calling the network "fake news."
Bruce Brown, the executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, condemned the video as a "threat of physical violence against journalists." He said Trump's tweet was "beneath the office of the presidency."
White House homeland security adviser Tom Bossert insisted the media should not view the tweet as a threat.
"I hope they don't," Bossert said on ABC's "This Week." "But I do think that he's beaten up in a way on cable platforms that he has a right to respond to."
CNN accused Trump of engaging in "juvenile behavior far below the dignity of his office."
White House officials traveling with Trump during his weekend stay at his New Jersey golf club did not immediately respond to questions about who made the video or about any message the president might have intended to send.
The video appeared to be a doctored version of an appearance Trump made on a World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. show called "Battle of the Billionaires" in 2007, in which Trump appears to attack WWE CEO Vince McMahon.
McMahon's wife, Linda, who founded and built the company with her husband, now heads the Small Business Administration for Trump and was a generous benefactor to his campaign.
The video was posted several days ago by a Reddit user with the title, "Trump takes down fake news." It was not clear whether that was where it originated or where Trump found it. Still, the user wrote Sunday about being "honored" Trump had tweeted the video. The user who posted the video has a history of posts using anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant language.
The president's verbal shots against news outlets and individual members of the media have grown increasingly personal in recent days even as lawmakers in both parties say the insults only threaten to undermine his political agenda.
Trump has singled out MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski and CNN for some of his most biting criticism, and hardly is backing down in the face of widespread condemnation from the political class.
"The fake media tried to stop us from going to the White House, but I'm president and they're not," Trump told a supportive crowd Saturday in Washington.
A White House spokeswoman, Sarah Sanders, told reporters last week that Trump "in no way, form or fashion has ever promoted or encouraged violence."
CNN, in its response to the video posted Sunday, said it was "a sad day when the president of the United States encourages violence against reporters. Clearly, Sarah Huckabee Sanders lied when she said the president had never done so."
CNN's statement noted the weighty list of issues before Trump -- an overseas trip this week that includes a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the stalled health care bill, the threat from North Korea. Instead of focusing on those matters, CNN said, "he is involved in juvenile behavior far below the dignity of his office. We will keep doing our jobs. He should start doing his."
Trump's latest tweet came as Republicans and Democrats have been imploring him to focus on leading the country, rather than exploding on social media.
For days, Trump has focused his ire on Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough, co-hosts of MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
Trump took to Twitter on Thursday to call Brzezinski "crazy" and contend she was "bleeding badly from a face-lift" when he once saw them at his Florida estate. The comment was decried as sexist and vulgar by many Democrats and Republicans.
The MSNBC personalities said Friday that Trump was lying about their December encounter and they questioned his "unhealthy obsession" with their program.

The hosts, who are a couple onscreen and off, also said the White House told them a damaging National Enquirer story about their relationship would "go away" if they called the president and apologized for harsh commentary. Trump quickly disputed the claim on Twitter.
A source told Fox News Friday that Scarborough called senior adviser Jared Kushner and asked if there was anything that could be done about the Enquirer story, which was slated to run in early June.
Kushner allegedly told Scarborough that the former Republican congressman needed to talk to the president himself about the issue, to which Scarborough replied that Trump was angry at him. The source said Kushner answered: “Well, then maybe you should apologize.”
Republican officials acknowledged Sunday that Trump's Twitter feed distracts from work like health care.
"We in Washington, we in the country, cannot be focused on tweets," Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., told NBC's "Meet The Press," adding that "I get so frustrated when we get focused on tweets."
Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio, told "This Week" he hoped Trump's family would talk to him and say, "Knock it off."
"The coarseness doesn't help anybody," he said.

Paul: Senate health bill is 'lit up like a Christmas tree' with spending

Washington Republicans are taking no July 4 holiday on the Senate’s ObamaCare overhaul bill -- with President Trump calling senators and Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul pushing a conservative alternative to the existing measure that he says is “lit up like a Christmas tree” with spending.
“I don’t think we’re getting anywhere with the bill we have,” Paul said on “Fox News Sunday.” “Every time you add more federal money, more spending for the big-government Republicans, it offends the conservatives. … Senate leadership is loading (up) the bill like a Christmas tree, with billion dollar ornaments.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., didn't have enough support last week to vote on the measure, leaving it behind as Congress departed for the July recess.
MCCONNELL REJECTS TRUMP’S ADVICE ON REPEAL OBAMACARE NOW, REPLACE LATER
The Kentucky Republican will need support from at least 50 of the chamber’s 52 GOP senators to pass the bill.
Paul is pushing a plan to divide the Senate bill into two parts -- a vote on repealing ObamaCare and a separate vote on replacing it.
Forty-nine GOP senators voted in 2015 in favor of repealing the 2010 health care law, formally known as the Affordable Care Act. However, they knew that then-President Barack Obama would veto the effort.
President Trump over the past few days has expressed his support for a separate repeal-and-replace plan, in an effort to fulfill Republicans’ long-standing promise to end ObamaCare, struggling under increasing premium costs and fewer policy options for Americans.
However, McConnell said Friday that he wants to stick with the existing bill.
Paul said Sunday that he would support the repeal effort but seemed unlikley to back the replace effort in its existing form, which he said includes roughly $200 billion in insurance "bailouts."
Mac Short, Trump's director of legislative affairs, told “Fox News Sunday” that the White House has already stated its “preference” for passing the existing Senate bill.
He also said Trump is talking to GOP senators over the weekend and expressed confidence about the bill being passed this summer so the president and Congress can move to tax reform by the fall.

WH: Health Care Vote May Happen Soon

The Republican leadership in the Senate decided this week to delay a vote on their long-awaited health care bill in following opposition in the GOP ranks.(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

OAN Newsroom
A White House official says the GOP Health Care Bill is getting close to a full Senate vote.
Legislative Affairs Director Marc Short appeared for an interview on Sunday and said the President is continuing to reach out to Senators to rally support for the American Health Care Act.
Short says the Republican package lowers premium costs and provides better quality of care.
When pressed on whether the bill has enough votes to pass the Senate, Short only said the White House anticipates a vote in the near future.
“We got it completed and passed through the House. We are now in the Senate where there is obviously a lot of procedural delays, we’re at the point of scoring two different bills throughout the course of this recess week. So we hope that when we come back the week after recess we will have a vote,” he said.
Short also slammed the CBO score for being unreliable.
He added the report should be questioned for its past failures predicting the outcomes of key legislation.

Homeland Security Lifts Part of Laptop Ban

The Department of Homeland Security lifts a ban on laptops on flights coming into the U.S. from Abu Dhabi.
Earlier on Sunday, officials announced Etihad Airways and the Abu Dhabi International Airport met the initial security requirements needed to have the electronics restriction lifted.
Etihad is the only airline that has direct flights into the country from that city.
In march, authorities banned laptops on U.S.-bound flights from certain airports in eight countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, among others.
Last week, Homeland Security unveiled security measures that airlines must adopt in order to be cleared from the ban.