President Donald Trump took his attacks on the free press a step further on Sunday morning, when he tweeted out an edited version of a 2007 video of him body slamming and punching WWE CEO Vince McMahon.
In the edited video Trump tweeted, an image of the CNN logo was superimposed on McMahon's face to make it appear as though Trump was pummeling the news network.
"#FraudNewsCNN #FNN," Trump wrote, presumably shortening his moniker, "Fraud News Network."
Trump frequently attacks news networks and publications he views as unfavorable to him. In the past, five of the six major news networks have been on the receiving end of his ire: CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, and MSNBC. He has largely spared Fox News, which often runs favorable coverage of the president.
Much of the last week was spent in a public feud with MSNBC hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough, after Trump tweeted on Thursday that she was supposedly "bleeding from a face-lift" when she visited his Florida estate over the New Year.
In a speech honoring veterans at the Kennedy Center on Saturday night, Trump attacked the press again.
"The fake media tried to stop us from going to the White House, but I'm president and they're not," he said. "The fact is the press has destroyed themselves because they went too far. Instead of being subtle and smart, they used a hatchet."
In recent days, Trump has focused his attacks on CNN, which he labels as "fake news" and "fraud news."
Here's the unedited video from 2007:
#FraudNewsCNN #FNN pic.twitter.com/WYUnHjjUjg
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 2, 2017I am thinking about changing the name #FakeNews CNN to #FraudNewsCNN!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 1, 2017I am extremely pleased to see that @CNN has finally been exposed as #FakeNews and garbage journalism. It's about time!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 1, 2017Fake News CNN is looking at big management changes now that they got caught falsely pushing their phony Russian stories. Ratings way down!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 27, 2017Wow, CNN had to retract big story on "Russia," with 3 employees forced to resign. What about all the other phony stories they do? FAKE NEWS!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 27, 2017