Millions of people around the country watched Donald Trump be sworn in as the 45th President of the United States last Friday. Since then, the new president has used his Twitter account to praise Fox News for their ratings and coverage, while making sure to bash CNN on the process.
Trump debunked
Ever since the start of his presidential campaign, Donald Trump has been in a war of words with the mainstream media. With the exception of Fox News and a handful of others news outlets on the political right, the billionaire real estate mogul has not been in good standing with the press.
Once Trump was elected, he has only increased his attacks on the media, which has been amped up even further since Inauguration Day. On Tuesday night, Trump took to Twitter to blast CNN for having lower ratings than Fox News during the inauguration. However, as seen on the offical CNN Twitter account on January 25, Trump wasn't giving the whole story.
@realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/bTtBoNr0Bn
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) January 25, 2017
Donald Trump tweeted out Tuesday night, "Congratulations to @FoxNews for being number one in inauguration ratings. They were many times higher than FAKE NEWS @CNN." In response, CNN offered clarification for the new president. Citing the Nielsen cumulative numbers, 34 million people watched CNN during their coverage on Inauguration Day, the same exact number that tuned into Fox News.
While Fox News had the higher ratings during the actual ceremony, Trump's comments were misleading, and an apparent example of "alternative facts."
CNN Hits Back at Donald Trump After He Praises Fox News for Its Inauguration Ratings https://t.co/bbEWjiLHIQ pic.twitter.com/T1wRltEMdO
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) January 25, 2017
The rift between Donald Trump and CNN has been ongoing for sometime, peaking during a press conference earlier this month when the former host of "The Apprentice" refused to allow reporter Jim Acosta to ask a question.
The new president turned to Acosta and replied that his network was "fake news."
Next up
While Donald Trump has only been in the White House for less than a week, he's already taking advance of the power of the presidency. Trump has issued executive orders to start construction on the border wall between the United States and Mexico, limit funding for charities offering abortions, as well as restarting the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.