This post has been updated.
In tweets and retweets, Trump once again voiced disdain for the "Mainstream Media,” specifically naming NBC and MSNBC as the source of his ire, while also touting support for himself and his controversial wall ahead of a visit to the southern border Thursday.
The president began by attacking the news outlets for being “dishonest” and describing them as the “Opposition Party working with the Dems” in two tweets shared 10 minutes apart.
“May even be worse than Fake News CNN, if that is possible!” Trump wrote.
The Mainstream Media has NEVER been more dishonest than it is now. NBC and MSNBC are going Crazy. They report stories, purposely, the exact opposite of the facts. They are truly the Opposition Party working with the Dems. May even be worse than Fake News CNN, if that is possible!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2019
He went on to complain about network anchors, claiming they “quickly leaked the contents” of an “OFF THE RECORD luncheon” that occurred before his prime-time address Tuesday. Trump was likely referencing a New York Times story reporting that the president had complained in that meeting that he didn’t want to give the televised speech or go to the border but that aides had talked him into it. “It’s not going to change a damn thing, but I’m still doing it,” the Times reported him saying in the luncheon.
“Who would believe how bad it has gotten with the mainstream media, which has gone totally bonkers!” Trump tweeted.
Gave an OFF THE RECORD luncheon, somewhat of a White House tradition or custom, to network anchors yesterday - and they quickly leaked the contents of the meeting. Who would believe how bad it has gotten with the mainstream media, which has gone totally bonkers!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2019
Trump then proceeded to retweet flattering messages of support that championed the border wall.
The president reposted four tweets from one of his most vocal supporters, Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, a pro-Trump organization. Two of Kirk’s tweets advocated the need for the wall, citing misleading statistics about illegal activity happening at the southern border. In another tweet that the president retweeted, Kirk wrote that Trump is “winning this shutdown fight” and urged the president to “stand your ground.”
The retweets also included a tweet from his campaign manager, Brad Parscale, who wrote that he had “just received my newest voter score tracking from my team."
“@realDonaldTrump has reached his highest national approval rating since I started tracking,” Parscale boasted. “The @TheDemocrats have really made a mistake going with their gut over data."
Trump capped his late-night flurry of Twitter activity by retweeting conservative commentator Dan Bongino, who had shared a link about a poll purporting to show widespread concern about border security.
On Tuesday, the president delivered his first prime-time address from the Oval Office in which he gravely informed Americans that his wall is the only solution to the “growing humanitarian and security crisis” at the southern border. But Wednesday, it appeared that his plea did little to sway congressional Democrats who continued to refuse to grant him funding for the wall, prompting the president to storm out of a tense shutdown negotiation meeting. Trump also is beginning to lose support from some members of his own party over his shutdown strategy as eight House Republicans voted in favor of a plan backed by Democrats to reopen the Treasury Department even if border wall funds are not secured, The Washington Post’s Felicia Sonmez and John Wagner reported.
There is one news organization, however, that has managed to stay in the president’s good graces. On his Fox News show Wednesday, host Sean Hannity announced he would be conducting an interview with Trump at the border in McAllen, Tex., on Thursday.
“We will be there,” Hannity told his viewers. “We have a lot to talk to the president and everyone else about tomorrow.”
