Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Donald Trump speaks with members of his cabinet during a meeting at the White House on Monday.
President Donald Trump vented his frustration with the press and the courts in a series of tweets Tuesday morning in which he accused both institutions of deliberately undermining his agenda.The tweets reflected the president's well-known opinions on what he calls the "Fake News Media" and the federal court system, both of which have been repeated targets of his online attacks.
At 6:35 a.m. on Tuesday, Trump accused the media of publishing intentionally inaccurate stories about him and his administration in service of an "agenda of hate."
He followed up an hour later with an attack on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which yesterday became the second appeals court to rule against the administration's controversial executive order limiting travel to the US from several majority Muslim countries.
The court rested its decision in part on a tweet that Trump posted on June 5, in which he argued that the US needs a "travel ban" targeting certain "dangerous countries" in order to protect national security. The appeals court ruled that the ban unlawfully discriminates against individuals on the basis of their nationality and that the government did not show that these individuals would harm US interests.
On Tuesday, Trump said that the court's decision was expected, and ended his tweet with "S.C.," presumably an abbreviation for the Supreme Court. Earlier this month, the administration appealed the Fourth Circuit's May decision against the ban to the Supreme Court.
Trump moved on to his former opponent Hillary Clinton in his next tweet, accusing former Attorney General Loretta Lynch of giving Clinton a "free pass and protection" during the investigation into her use of a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state.
Moving back to the media, Trump called for an apology from the press for its "incorrect" stories and claimed that fake news is at "an all time high." And in another tweet concerning his Tuesday trip to Wisconsin, he commended the "Real News" for covering his administration's job creation efforts.
In another unrelated morning message, the president wrote that Obamacare, his predecessor's signature health care legislation, had entered a "death spiral." Trump claimed that two million Americans "just dropped out" of the program and argued that "Obstructionist Democrats" are preventing Republicans from repealing and replacing the law.
Trump mischaracterized a report published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services this week that found that two million individuals have failed to pay for their Obamacare insurance plans since January. Many of these people likely aged into Medicare or received insurance coverage through their employers.
The Fake News Media has never been so wrong or so dirty. Purposely incorrect stories and phony sources to meet their agenda of hate. Sad!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 2017Well, as predicted, the 9th Circuit did it again - Ruled against the TRAVEL BAN at such a dangerous time in the history of our country. S.C.
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 2017Fake News is at an all time high. Where is their apology to me for all of the incorrect stories???
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 20172 million more people just dropped out of ObamaCare. It is in a death spiral. Obstructionist Democrats gave up, have no answer = resist!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 2017