Trump Warns Comey, Threatens to End Press Briefings in Early-Morning Twitter Rant
In a series of tweets sent early Friday morning, President Trump addressed a litany of pressing political topics, from the dismissal of former FBI Chief James Comey and the ensuing backlash to his difficult relationship with the media.
First, Trump once again insisted that the allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election were created by his political opponents:
Again, the story that there was collusion between the Russians & Trump campaign was fabricated by Dems as an excuse for losing the election.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2017
He then attacked the press directly, writing:
The Fake Media is working overtime today!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2017
This led him to float the idea of canceling press briefings entirely—for the sake of “accuracy”:
As a very active President with lots of things happening, it is not possible for my surrogates to stand at podium with perfect accuracy!....— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2017
...Maybe the best thing to do would be to cancel all future "press briefings" and hand out written responses for the sake of accuracy???— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2017
Then, switching gears slightly, he addressed James Comey—a tweet many viewed as a threat:
James Comey better hope that there are no "tapes" of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2017
Trump concluded the tweet-storm with a final tweet, again focused on the Russia allegations:
When James Clapper himself, and virtually everyone else with knowledge of the witch hunt, says there is no collusion, when does it end?— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2017
Numerous officials weighed in on Trump’s tweet about Comey, from legal experts to Rep. Adam Schiff, a ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee:
Mr. President, if there are "tapes" relevant to the Comey firing, it's because you made them and they should be provided to Congress. https://t.co/rztyxG6Ytt— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) May 12, 2017
Implied threat of releasing secretly recorded "tapes" is illegal extortionate act by Trump against Comey. #Dems https://t.co/BYptxHHsGo… pic.twitter.com/AlJOvwc23N— Dario Navarro (@darionavarro111) May 12, 2017
Thanks for the heads up, Donald. Congressional investigators should certainly subpoena Trump-Comey tapes.— Jeffrey D. Sachs (@JeffDSachs) May 12, 2017
And others expressed intense concern about Trump’s threat to end press briefings:
Trump has now called the press "the enemy of the people" and has suggested banning press briefings. This is scarily authoritarian.— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) May 12, 2017
To review, Trump told us his staff can't be accurate because they're busy, suggested taking away press briefings, and threatened Comey.— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) May 12, 2017
This is official off the rails. The presidency is coming apart… https://t.co/T8KxdvLXdd— Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) May 12, 2017
It was a busy morning on Twitter, as numerous users also zeroed in on a letter released by the White House Friday morning. The letter, which focused on Trump’s tax returns, declares that Trump had no financial ties to Russia, “with few exceptions.” That single phrase quickly went viral, as many users tweeted with the hashtag #withfewexceptions to criticize the hypocrisy of that statement.
Trump’s tweet-storm comes after intense fallout from Comey’s dismissal—a fallout apparently not anticipated by the White House. Trump appears to have grown increasingly distressed over allegations of Russian involvement in U.S. politics. According to Politico, Trump has “repeatedly asked aides why the Russia investigation wouldn’t disappear and demanded they speak out for him” and will “sometimes scream at television clips about the probe.”
Numerous politicians and journalists have since called for an independent investigation into Russian influence, proving the matter will not be going away anytime soon.
—Posted by Emma Niles