On Wednesday morning, NBC News reported that Donald Trump was looking to increase the United States' nuclear arsenal, much to the surprise of military leaders. Just hours after the story broke, the president was quick to push back.
Trump on Twitter
Donald Trump has made it clear that he's not a fan of the mainstream media. It all started when he announced his campaign for president back in the summer of 2015 and referred to illegal immigrants as "rapists" and "murderers." After being met with criticism from the press following his remarks, the war of words between the former host of "The Apprentice" and the media was underway.
In the two years that have followed, Trump has only amped up his attack on reporters and journalists, often labeling anytime story he doesn't like as "Fake News." While Trump has made a habit out of bashing CNN and the "failing" New York Times, his latest attacks have been directed at NBC News. On Wednesday morning, NBC News broke a story noting that the president had pushed a "nearly tenfold increase" of the country's nuclear arsenal while meeting with some of the highest ranking officials in the military over the summer. As expected, the commander in chief was not pleased with the contents of the report and lashed out during several tweets on October 11.
Taking to Twitter on Wednesday morning, Donald Trump expressed his frustration with NBC News, going as far as threatening potential legal action by challenging their journalistic license. "Fake @NBCNews made up a story that I wanted a 'tenfold' increase in our U.S. nuclear arsenal. Pure fiction, made up to demean," Trump tweeted, before adding, "NBC = CNN!"
Not stopping there, Donald Trump doubled down on his attack in a follow-up tweet. "With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License?" Trump wondered, while stating, "Bad for country!"
Media rant
Donald Trump's rant on NBC News came just hours after tweeting a more general attack on the media for not giving him proper credit for the current state of the economy.
"It would be really nice if the Fake News Media would report the virtually unprecedented Stock Market growth since the election," Trump wrote, while stating, "Need tax cuts." Despite claiming that the media is out to get him, the majority of the American people appear to side with the press as Trump's approval rating is sitting at just 35 percent in the most recent round of polling data.