President Trump whipped up the media into yet another frenzy this week with a series of attacks on MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski.
Per the New York Post:
President Trump lashed out on Twitter at the hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Thursday referring to “low I.Q. Crazy Mika” Brzezinski and “Psycho Joe” Scarborough and suggesting that she had a “face-lift.”
” I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don’t watch anymore). Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came.. ,” the president tweeted.
I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don't watch anymore). Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2017
” …to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year’s Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no! ,” Trump continued.
The president who has been involved in a running feud with Brzezinski and Scarborough since he entered the White House tweeted out just minutes before their morning show went off the air at 9 a.m.
The ‘tweet read around the world’ set off a firestorm, sparking rebuke from lawmakers and media figures across the political spectrum.
The top response on Twitter was from former Guardian journalist, Jack Schofield.
Donald, don't you have a job to do? Do you really think that tweeting like a crazy whackjob is improving the quality of life in the USA? pic.twitter.com/T5pC9YcV1B
— Jack Schofield (@jackschofield) June 29, 2017
Former presidential rival, Jeb Bush called out Trump.
https://twitter.com/JebBush/status/880478849909305344?ref_src=twsrc% 5Etfw&ref_url=http% 3A% 2F% 2Fabcnews.go.com% 2FPolitics% 2Ftrump-faces-backlash-tweets-mika-brzezinski% 2Fstory% 3Fid% 3D48349554
Bustle reported:
House Speaker Paul Ryan, meanwhile, responded to the president’s tweets during his weekly news conference. “Obviously I don’t see that as an appropriate comment,” Ryan said. “We are trying to improve the tone and civility of the debate, and this obviously does not do that.”
https://twitter.com/MSNBCPR/status/880427906622787584?ref_src=twsrc% 5Etfw&ref_url=https% 3A% 2F% 2Fwww.bustle.com% 2Fp% 2Ftrumps-shocking-tweet-about-mika-brzezinski-sparks-fierce-backlash-67529
https://twitter.com/MeghanMcCain/status/880416996277583873?ref_src=twsrc% 5Etfw&ref_url=https% 3A% 2F% 2Fwww.bustle.com% 2Fp% 2Ftrumps-shocking-tweet-about-mika-brzezinski-sparks-fierce-backlash-67529
https://twitter.com/JuddLegum/status/880415016071159808?ref_src=twsrc% 5Etfw&ref_url=https% 3A% 2F% 2Fwww.bustle.com% 2Fp% 2Ftrumps-shocking-tweet-about-mika-brzezinski-sparks-fierce-backlash-67529
https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/880429415406161920?ref_src=twsrc% 5Etfw&ref_url=https% 3A% 2F% 2Fwww.bustle.com% 2Fp% 2Ftrumps-shocking-tweet-about-mika-brzezinski-sparks-fierce-backlash-67529
https://twitter.com/BenSasse/status/880429821775552514?ref_src=twsrc% 5Etfw&ref_url=https% 3A% 2F% 2Fwww.bustle.com% 2Fp% 2Ftrumps-shocking-tweet-about-mika-brzezinski-sparks-fierce-backlash-67529
https://twitter.com/SenMarkey/status/880436431021375488?ref_src=twsrc% 5Etfw&ref_url=https% 3A% 2F% 2Fwww.bustle.com% 2Fp% 2Ftrumps-shocking-tweet-about-mika-brzezinski-sparks-fierce-backlash-67529
Women in politics also took the time to empathize with Brzezinski and criticize Trump.
https://twitter.com/RepLynnJenkins/status/880433829856542721?ref_src=twsrc% 5Etfw&ref_url=https% 3A% 2F% 2Fwww.bustle.com% 2Fp% 2Ftrumps-shocking-tweet-about-mika-brzezinski-sparks-fierce-backlash-67529
https://twitter.com/SenatorCollins/status/880445276741402624?ref_src=twsrc% 5Etfw&ref_url=https% 3A% 2F% 2Fwww.bustle.com% 2Fp% 2Ftrumps-shocking-tweet-about-mika-brzezinski-sparks-fierce-backlash-67529
The widespread freak-out over Trump’s attack on Mika and Joe underpins how effective the platform can be at disrupting, shaping and driving the media narrative.
Washington Times editor Charlie Hurt underscored this point in his piece featured on the Drudge Report this week:
Oh, the mad genius of Donald Trump!
On the cusp of one of the biggest victories of his administration, cracking down on illegal aliens who commit vicious crimes inside our country, President Trump took to Twitter.
“I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don’t watch anymore). Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year’s Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no!”
The only thing missing from this electronic presidential address was the Marine Band playing “Hail to the Chief.”
She was bleeding badly. Face-lift. Low I.Q. Psycho Joe.
It is all so delicious. Mercilessly inventive. Joyously vicious. Like an entire season of pro wrestling drama, all sewn up into two little Twitter messages.
Those who have been paying attention to how President Trump utilizes social media and plays the press like fiddles know the truth about the ‘Mika bleeding’ tweet.
It was a hoax.
Not a hoax like we’ve seen countless Leftists fail to pull off, where they claim assault by Conservatives. The hoax is that the President couldn’t care less about Mika’s face or ‘Morning Joe’s’ ratings. The sole motive behind the attack was to distract the media from reporting on the travel ban and ‘Kate’s Law’ passing the House. The ‘Muslim Ban,’ as the MSM has coined it, is the most controversial law Trump will likely put into effect during his Presidency.
The BBC reported on the ban coming into effect following the Supreme Court’s partial reinstatement:
People from six mainly Muslim countries and all refugees now face tougher US entry due to President Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban.
It means people without “close” family or business relationships in the US could be denied visas and barred entry.
Lawyers took up positions at US airports, offering free advice.
But there was no sign of the chaos that affected travellers when the first version of the ban was brought in at a few hours’ notice in January.
That is because the executive order does not affect people who already have valid visas or green cards.
The Department of Homeland Security said it expected “business as usual at our ports of entry”.
Monday’s Supreme Court ruling upheld the temporary ban, a key Trump policy.
But the judges provided a major exception, for those who have “a credible claim of a bona fide relationship” with someone in the US.
When it was first signed into law, the travel ban spawned protests throughout the country. Twitter personalities raged, TV pundits raged. Lawmakers raged. Protesters raged.
Hell, Trump’s travel order even made Chuck ‘Fake Tears’ Schumer CRY!
Don’t think my theory is correct? The media dedicated what felt like ENDLESS amounts of attention on Trump’s tweets — virtually ignoring the ‘Kate’s Law’ passing in the House.
Newsbusters reported:
After Thursday’s network evening newscasts devoted 28 times more coverage to Donald Trump’s offensive tweets than to important immigration reform legislation, on Friday, the morning shows on ABC, NBC, and CBS offered even more lopsided reporting. Combined, ABC’s Good Morning America, NBC’s Today, and CBS This Morningdevoted a staggering 52 times the amount of coverage to the President’s social media attack than to Kate’s Law passing the House.
As NewsBusters analyst Nicholas Fondacaro calculated, the network evening news on Thursday provided 12 minutes 14 seconds of airtime on Trump’s tweets targeting MSNBC anchor Mika Brzezinski, but only NBC Nightly News featured a 26-second news brief on the House passage of two immigration bills – Kate’s Law and another cracking down on sanctuary cities.
President Trump masterfully designed his ‘Mika Bleeding’ tweet to distract the media from reporting on two of the most important (and controversial) aspects of his agenda.
Former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski recently called his former boss the “Hemingway of Twitter.”
The Hill reports:
President Trump’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski called Trump the “Hemingway of Twitter,” this week, following his tweets about MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski.
“He’s the Ernest Hemingway of Twitter,” Lewandowski said discussing Trump’s recent Twitter attacks on Fox News.
“He’s taken down his opponents on Twitter many times. You can ask ‘Little Marco’ or ‘Lyin’ Ted’ or ‘Crooked Hillary.’ We all know the names or ‘Low Energy Jeb,’” he continued, referencing Trump’s branding of his 2016 presidential opponents.
“But when you oppose Donald Trump, beware of his hundred million social media followers,” he continued.
As Joseph Curl, former Drudge Report editor and Daily Wire writer tweeted, Trump is the ‘Master Tweeter.’
For those who don't think Trump is the Master Tweeter, the travel ban is in place and everyone's talking about — Mika and Joe. Well played.
— Joseph Curl ❎ (@josephcurl) June 30, 2017
I couldn’t agree more, Joe.
Follow Josh Caplan on Twitter at @JoshDCaplan
