Early Tuesday morning, President Donald Trump said he would continue to use Twitter even though “the fake MSM” doesn’t like it, saying the social network allows him to broadcast what he called “the honest and unfiltered message” about his government to Americans.
The FAKE MSM is working so hard trying to get me not to use Social Media. They hate that I can get the honest and unfiltered message out.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017
The President went on to criticize the “fake news” of media outlets such as CNN, NBC, and the New York Times, saying if he had relied on those organizations, he would have had “zero chance of winning” the presidential election.
Sorry folks, but if I would have relied on the Fake News of CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, washpost or nytimes, I would have had ZERO chance winning WH
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017
It’s not the first time Trump has talked about how using social media allows him to get his message out to Americans directly. In January, he said he liked using the social network because he was “covered so dishonestly by the press.”
At the same time, however, that direct and unfiltered message has also caused problems for the president and his administration on a number of occasions.
Just one example: Courts in both Washington state and Hawaii used tweets that Trump posted about his proposed immigration ban to strike down the legislation, on the basis that his comments suggested the ban was targeted specifically at banning Muslims, which is unconstitutional. Some legal experts have warned that his recent comments about the travel ban could cause similar complications as the case heads to the Supreme Court.
In a response to his Tuesday morning messages, the American Civil Liberties Union—one of the groups that has been fighting the immigration ban—suggested that it may use Trump’s tweets on the topic to help in that ongoing battle.
Yes, we may incorporate @realDonaldTrump's tweets about the ban into our Supreme Court argument.
— ACLU (@ACLU) June 5, 2017
Another receipt to save for when we see you in court. https://t.co/7WMe0XMkrS
— ACLU (@ACLU) June 6, 2017
There have been reports recently from a number of news outlets that members of Trump’s administration would very much like to filter his tweets by having his legal team look at them before they are sent out. But Trump apparently isn’t in favor of that kind of strategy. Trump’s defense of his Twitter use comes just a day after one of his advisers, Kellyanne Conway, criticized the media’s focus on his individual tweets, referring to what she called its “obsession with covering everything [he] says on Twitter.”
A number of media observers have pointed out, however, that the tweets from Trump are essentially official communications from the president of the United States, just as press conferences or news releases are, and therefore they deserve to be covered. CNN media analyst Brian Stelter said the president’s tweets are an important part of the public record of his administration because they provide a glimpse into his emotional state and give his unfiltered perspective on the events going on around him.
What I said on @NewDay about Trump's impulsive tweets:
The emotional state of the president IS part of this story… https://t.co/fG7eUUu28S
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) June 6, 2017
As more than one journalist noted in response to Trump’s Tuesday morning thread, most of the media would probably love for him to continue tweeting because it provides them with a real-time glimpse into his thought process as well as endless fodder for articles.
Fact Check: MSM eat up his tweets like Skittles. It's WH advisers, lawyers and Trump supporters who want him to stop tweeting. https://t.co/r6ZvJlTa8O
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) June 6, 2017
Any pressure to stop doing so seems more likely to come from members of his own administration.
