Donald Trump has hit out at the media, blaming journalists who “do not like our country” for the division in the US.
Speaking in Phoenix among many of his supporters, Trump branded himself as a victim of the media whilst calling journalists “truly dishonest people” who twisted his response to the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville.
Re-reading the three statements he made following the race rally, the US President did not include lines where he said there had been violence “on all sides”.
“It’s time to expose the crooked media deceptions and to challenge the media for their role in fomenting divisions and yes, by the way, they are trying to take away our history and our heritage,” he told the crowd.
Trump carried on to do a rambling speech, in which he referred to North Korea, Nafta and the infamous wall between Mexico and the US.
Following his re-reading of statements, Trump directed his speech to the crowd by saying: “The media can attack me but where I draw the line is when they attack you, which is what they do, when they attack the decency of our supporters. You are honest, hard-working, taxpaying Americans – and by the way, you’re overtaxed, but we’re going to get your taxes down – who love our nation, obey our laws and care for our people.
“It’s time to expose the crooked media deceptions and to challenge the media for their role in fomenting divisions and yes, by the way, they are trying to take away our history and our heritage. You see that. These are truly dishonest people. Not all of them. You have some very good reporters, you have some very fair journalists. But for the most part, these are really, really dishonest people,” he carried on, clearly comfortable among his most avid supporters.
“They’re bad people and I really think they don’t like our country. I really believe that. And I don’t believe they’re going to change and that’s why I do this. If they would change, I would never say it. The only people giving a platform to these hate groups is the media itself and the fake news.”
“These are sick people. You would think they want to make our country great again and I honestly believe they don’t. If you want to discover the source of the division in our country, look no further than the fake news and the crooked media, which would rather get ratings and clicks than tell the truth.”
Branding himself as the victim of the media, Trump left the crowd chanting “CNN sucks”.