The liberal media were quick to circle the wagons Saturday after President Donald Trump called out one of their own over a misleading photo of the president’s rally in Pensacola, Florida, that made it appear that he was speaking to an empty arena.
Turns out, the Friday rally was standing room only, but Dave Weigel, a reporter with The Washington Post, shared a photo on Twitter of the facility BEFORE folks arrived.
The misleading photo, along with a mocking caption that read, “Packed to the rafters,” didn’t escape the president’s attention, who replied by calling Weigel out by name and demanding a retraction and apology.
“.@DaveWeigel @WashingtonPost put out a phony photo of an empty arena hours before I arrived @ the venue, w/ thousands of people outside, on their way in. Real photos now shown as I spoke. Packed house, many people unable to get in. Demand apology & retraction from FAKE NEWS WaPo!” Trump tweeted.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/939616077356642304
And an apology was forthcoming, as Weigel responded to Trump’s tweet to admit that he had “gotten it wrong.”
Sure thing: I apologize. I deleted the photo after @dmartosko told me I'd gotten it wrong. Was confused by the image of you walking in the bottom right corner. https://t.co/fQY7GMNSaD
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) December 9, 2017
Fox News senior political analyst Brit Hume weighed in after the apology to point out that Trump was right in his complaint.
Weigel has now acknowledged that Trump is right about this. https://t.co/khzA6vzS1L
— Brit Hume (@brithume) December 9, 2017
Following the apology, the president took it a step further, calling the photo “FAKE NEWS” and saying Weigel “should be fired.”
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/939634404267380736
That and the fact that Trump tagged Weigel in his tweet had those eager to pounce on the president for the slightest of reasons up in arms.
Naturally, CNN lead the effort, as seen in a tweet from Brian Stelter, who whined that Trump was “inviting followers to gang up on a reporter.” Never mind that Weigel and reporters of his stature make a living mixing it up on social media.
By including Dave Weigel’s @ handle, the president’s statement is inviting followers to gang up on a reporter https://t.co/3C5jKDvFP5
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) December 9, 2017
MSNBC’s Kyle Griffin went one better, ratcheting things up from a case of bullying to a full-fledged assault on the U.S. Constitution.
…over a tweet.
The president calling for a journalist to be fired seems like a public threat to the First Amendment. https://t.co/Vx4csNtIP4
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 9, 2017
Here’s a sampling of other responses from members of the media who suddenly found their panties all wadded up:
And apologized as Trump demanded. And then Trump said that’s not enough. Almost feels like wanting the apology wasn’t the point. https://t.co/v3dwtpC8Gr
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) December 9, 2017
Retraction? @daveweigel posted and then deleted the photo from his personal account after he was told it was unfair. WaPo didn't do a story on it or post from its official account. https://t.co/nRlbWHKMNn
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) December 9, 2017
https://twitter.com/dmartosko/status/939715095797608448
https://twitter.com/JasonLeMiere/status/939617522713849856
Anyone think we've let POTUS distract us onto the Weigel case? @DaveWeigel has been roundly and rightly stood up for. Back to real issues.
— Elizabeth Drew (@ElizabethDrewOH) December 10, 2017
https://twitter.com/bendreyfuss/status/939621217308463105
Dude, practically the first thing you did as President was to send your press secretary out to lie about your inauguration crowd size. Weigel apologized and deleted the tweet. If you were to apologize for all of your lies it would take the rest of your term. https://t.co/uPTNGbGyAJ
— David Futrelle (@DavidFutrelle) December 10, 2017
https://twitter.com/SethAMandel/status/939635253500698625
Supreme Court deals blow to opponents of Trump rescinding Obama’s unconstitutional DACA order
I fear folks will keep bending over backwards to placate right wing trolls who have 0 standards or principles on truth and facts. They shouldn't. Correct the record for your own professionalism and ethics but not for Trump's base who honestly will always bash you. https://t.co/AH0VYkfz2a
— Wajahat "Butter King" Ali (@WajahatAli) December 9, 2017
https://twitter.com/oliverburkeman/status/939646009147363335
Fox News’ Lou Dobbs may have summed up the whole affair best in a tweet of his own.
“Truth May Not Matter to the Left Wing National Media-But Truth Does Matter for Most Americans, and Our President #MAGA @POTUS #TrumpTrain #AmericaFirst.”
Truth May Not Matter to the Left Wing National Media-But Truth Does Matter for Most Americans, and Our President #MAGA @POTUS #TrumpTrain #AmericaFirst https://t.co/zRqxfwaqgb
— Lou Dobbs (@LouDobbs) December 10, 2017
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