Trump lashes out at CNN, calls Fox News 'MUCH more important'
- President Donald Trump again attacked CNN on Twitter, accusing the network of being "fake" news and less important than Fox News.
- CNN's communications team responded, "It's not CNN's job to represent the U.S to the world. That's yours."
- Trump's tweets come at a momentous time for the media outlet, whose parent company is merging with AT&T and facing a lawsuit from Trump's Justice Department.
President Donald Trump on Saturday blasted CNN, calling it a source of "fake" news and comparing it unfavorably to its competitor Fox News.
"@FoxNews is MUCH more important in the United States than CNN, but outside of the U.S., CNN International is still a major source of (Fake) news, and they represent our Nation to the WORLD very poorly," he said on Twitter. "The outside world does not see the truth from them!"
CNN's communications team fired back minutes later, tweeting, "It's not CNN's job to represent the U.S to the world. That's yours. Our job is to report the news. #FactsFirst."
Trump's remarks come at a significant time for the media outlet, whose parent company Time Warner is merging with AT&T in an $85 billion deal. The Department of Justice has sued to block the merger, and legal experts have speculated that Trump's previous comments about CNN may be brought up during the litigation.
CNN is a frequent target of Trump's ire, and he has labeled the network "fake news," "dishonest," "disgusting" and "ratings challenged" in the last several months alone.
Trump's Saturday tweet also marked the second time in as many days that Trump lashed out at a major media outlet on Twitter. On Friday, he went after TIME Magazine, claiming he "took a pass" at being named its "Person of the Year."
"Time Magazine called to say that I was PROBABLY going to be named 'Man (Person) of the Year,' like last year, but I would have to agree to an interview and a major photo shoot," Trump tweeted. "I said probably is no good and took a pass. Thanks anyway!"
The magazine shot down at Trump's claim shortly afterward, tweeting that "the President is incorrect about how we choose Person of the Year. TIME does not comment on our choice until publication, which is December 6."