The war of words between Donald Trump and the mainstream media has been ongoing ever since the start of the 2016 presidential election. While it's usually Trump who clashes with the press, some of his supporters in Congress are now filling the role.
CNN clash
Ever since Donald Trump pulled off the upset over Hillary Clinton to become the new president, the biggest political story to dominate the news cycle has been over what impact Russia had on the election, and what their current communication is with the White House.
As expected, Trump has denied any wrongdoing, and has labeled any media outlet reporting otherwise as "fake news." In response, the former host of "The Apprentice" has pushed various conspiracy theories to defect the headlines onto other stories, including the baseless wiretapping allegations against Barack Obama. The latest issue focused on by the conservative media is whether or not former Obama-era National Security Adviser Susan Rice took part in the "unmasking" of Trump officials. These issues were discussed during a tense exchange on the April 5 edition of "New Day" on CNN.
Joining CNN host Chris Cuomo was Republican Sen.
Mike Lee, where the two went back and forth over the aforementioned Susan Rice story. "Did you mean to add fuel to the fire when you said, 'Political espionage is too common, too tempting,'” Cuomo questioned Lee. Continuing to press Lee, Cuomo then asked if he meant to insinuate that Rice's alleged "unmasking" was done for "political reasons?" Lee didn't have much to say in his own defense, admitting, "I have no idea what she did."
"Breitbart is using you as a poster boy," Chris Cuomo went on to say, before referring to the right-wing publication as Donald Trump's "viewing of choice." "They are using you as the poster boy of people who believe that Susan Rice was politically motivated in an unmasking," he continued.
At this point, Lee was apparently not thrilled with how the interview was going, and fired back moments later. "Look, I don't know what happened!" Lee said, before later adding, "That is an absolutely absurd manipulation of what I said. That is not at all what I said!"
Moving forward
The latest conservative focus on Susan Rice has been dismissed by the majority of the mainstream news media, with several anchors and hosts on CNN labeling it a clear "distraction." As Donald Trump does his best to shift the narrative away from his Russian scandal, it doesn't appear as if his critics are willing to let go so easily.