Trump shows again that he is not used to criticism and attacks CBS

‘It is a dishonest political operator, it must be punished’… The US president against the ‘60 Minutes’ programme and launches accusations of disinformation on Ukraine and Greenland. New offensive in the press

US President Donald Trump’s new lunge against the media. In the crosshairs this time is CBS, described on Truth Social as ‘a rogue political operator masquerading as a news outlet’. Trump pointed his finger in particular at the famous investigative programme 60 Minutes, which he accused of being ‘out of control to an unprecedented degree’.

The president strongly objected to two recent reports that aired during the last episode: one on Ukraine, ‘a war that would never have happened if I were president’, he reiterated, and one on Greenland, which he said presented the United States in a ‘false, inaccurate and fraudulent way’.

Announcement of a lawsuit and request for sanctions from the FCC

Trump said he felt ‘truly honoured’ to sue 60 Minutes, CBS and Paramount, accusing them of ‘fraudulent reporting’ and ‘illegally attempting to get Kamala Harris elected’, going so far as to ‘corruptly manipulate interview responses’.

The president called for the intervention of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), ‘led by the highly respected Brendan Carr’, to impose ‘the maximum fines and punishments for the unlawful and illegal behaviour’ of the broadcaster.

A strategy against the non-aligned press

The one against CBS is only the latest episode in an increasingly pronounced campaign against the mainstream press by the Trump administration. In the first two months of his new term in office, the president has expanded his media offensive: from the exclusion of an Associated Press reporter on terminology grounds, to changes in White House Correspondents’ Association protocol, with the press pool increasingly selected from “favoured” outlets.

In the recent meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky, one would have already seen the effects of this strategy, with pre-packaged questions and attitudes accused of pandering to the president’s line. Trump, meanwhile, continues to repeat that 2020 was ‘a rigged election’ and promises to continue his battle against what he considers ‘systemic disinformation’.

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(Photo: © AndKronos)