Just Which Outlets Are President Trump’s ‘Enemy’? By His Definition, There Are Many

President Donald Trump sent out a couple of tweets Oct 29 pushing back on the idea that he’s called the media the “enemy of the people.” It’s the “fake news” media, he specified. “A very big difference.” The first time that President Trump used the phrase, “enemy of the American people,” he identified the New York Times, NBC News, ABC, CBS, and CNN. He’s also called the Washington Post “fake news” several times. In a Sept 16 tweet, he characterized all of mainstream media as “fake news.” 

At the White House press briefing on Oct 29, CNN’s Jim Acosta pressed WH Press Sec Sarah Huckabee Sanders on just which outlets President Trump was referring to when he was using the phrase “enemy of the people.” He noted that his outlet was sent mail bombs in the past week. She demurred, but suggested that it didn’t necessarily mean an entire media organization. “I don’t think it’s necessarily specific to a general — broad generalization of a full outlet,” she said. “At times, I think there are individuals that the President would be referencing.”