Sean Burch
- The wrap
Trump Blasts Washington Post Writer for ‘Fake News’ Tweet, Calls for His Firing
President Donald Trump called for the firing of Washington Post’s Dave Weigel for posting a picture of a half-empty arena and the caption “packed to the rafters” on his Twitter account on Friday night.
The tweet, which presumably was referencing Trump’s Pensacola, Florida rally, didn’t sit well with the commander-in-chief, who included pictures of the rally to prove it was indeed packed to the rafters. Oh, and he included the patented “fake news” label, of course.
“[Dave Weigel] put out a phony photo of an empty arena hours before I arrived @ the venue, w/thousands of people outside, on their way in. Real photos now shown as I spoke,” tweeted Trump. “Packed house, many people unable to get in. Demand apology & retreaction from FAKE NEWS WaPo!”
.@DaveWeigel @WashingtonPost put out a phony photo of an empty arena hours before I arrived @ the venue, w/ thousands of people outside, on their way in. Real photos now shown as I spoke. Packed house, many people unable to get in. Demand apology & retraction from FAKE NEWS WaPo! pic.twitter.com/XAblFGh1ob
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 9, 2017
Weigel responded within three minutes, saying “sure thing: I apologize.” He added he deleted the photo after Daily Mail editor David Martosko had told him he’d “gotten it wrong.”
Sure thing: I apologize. I deleted the photo after @dmartosko told me I'd gotten it wrong. Was confused by the image of you walking in the bottom right corner. https://t.co/fQY7GMNSaD
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) December 9, 2017
Weigel followed up soon after, calling it a “bad tweet,” and saying it was “very fair to call me out.”
It was a bad tweet on my personal account, not a story for Washington Post. I deleted it after like 20 minutes. Very fair to call me out.
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) December 9, 2017
The apology didn’t satiate President Trump, however. He tweeted an hour later, calling for the Washington Post to fire Weigel.
“[Dave Weigel] of the Washington Post just admitted that his picture was a FAKE (fraud?) showing an almost empty arena last night for my speech in Pensacola when, in fact, he knew the arena was packed (as shown also on T.V.). FAKE NEWS, he should be fired,” tweeted Trump.
.@daveweigel of the Washington Post just admitted that his picture was a FAKE (fraud?) showing an almost empty arena last night for my speech in Pensacola when, in fact, he knew the arena was packed (as shown also on T.V.). FAKE NEWS, he should be fired.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 9, 2017
Journalists and commentators jumped to Weigel’s defense, saying, among other things, that Trump’s call for his firing was a “public threat to the First Amendment.”
The president calling for a journalist to be fired seems like a public threat to the First Amendment. https://t.co/Vx4csNtIP4
- Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 9, 2017
He apologized for his tweet and explained he made an error and got it wrong. Weigel is an honest journalist — anyone that knows him knows he wouldn’t intentionally tweet misinformation. https://t.co/FBzcuMnZEo
- Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) December 9, 2017
I don’t even know why I’m bothering, but… There’s a difference between journalists making a mistake and correcting it, and actual fake news. Trump and others trying to conflate the two.
— Amanda Terkel (@aterkel) December 9, 2017
By including Dave Weigel’s @ handle, the president’s statement is inviting followers to gang up on a reporter https://t.co/3C5jKDvFP5
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) December 9, 2017
A head of state publicly calling for a journalist to be fired is a textbook threat to freedom of speech. pic.twitter.com/1NhReH7l0c
- Adam Serwer ???? (@AdamSerwer) December 9, 2017
The best reporters make errors; @daveweigel is a great reporter who made a mistake and corrected it, only to end up bullied by the president of the United States, who has a lengthy record of false statements and a nonexistent record of correcting them.
— Adam Serwer ???? (@AdamSerwer) December 9, 2017
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