# Trump and "fake news" **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 29, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-fake-news/818778 "2018-07-29T20:31:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bmasters1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@bmasters1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmasters1)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-fake-news/818778/1 "2018-07-29T20:31:13Z")
When our current President Donald Trump talks about “fake news,” does he really mean that the only real news is talk radio and television that always accuses Democrats and justifies Republicans (FOX News, Sinclair stations’ newscasts, Breitbart, Rush Limbaugh, etc.), and that if it’s the other way around, or has no spin at all, it’s not real and you’re not being informed? That’s what I’ve always took it to mean, and if that is the case, I don’t know why he would think that. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-fake-news/818778/2 "2018-07-29T20:46:20Z")
Because he’s a liar and a fool and thinks only in terms of himself – news that reflects well on himself is “good news”, whether or not it’s true, and news that reflects poorly on himself is “fake news”, whether or not it’s true. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-fake-news/818778/3 "2018-07-29T20:50:53Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Because he’s a liar and a fool and thinks only in terms of himself – news that reflects well on himself is “good news”, whether or not it’s true, and news that reflects poorly on himself is “fake news”, whether or not it’s true. Yes. Trump is NOT attempting to rate news on its reliability. His only message is “I like what A is saying about me, so it’s ‘news’–and I don’t like what B is saying about me, so it’s ‘fake news.’” ---
**Author:** ![bmasters1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@bmasters1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmasters1)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-fake-news/818778/4 "2018-07-29T21:15:16Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Yes. Trump is NOT attempting to rate news on its reliability. His only message is “I like what A is saying about me, so it’s ‘news’–and I don’t like what B is saying about me, so it’s ‘fake news.’” That’s the best answer right there! If that’s what it is, I think it could just as much be the other way around-- that a Democratic President would think that only liberal sources reflect well on him (or her). ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-fake-news/818778/5 "2018-07-29T21:42:43Z")
> [@bmasters1](#): > > That’s the best answer right there! If that’s what it is, I think it could just as much be the other way around-- that a Democratic President would think that only liberal sources reflect well on him (or her). Don’t pull that “both sides do it” crap around here. Democratic presidents haven’t done it, and frankly, neither have Republican presidents besides thump. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-fake-news/818778/6 "2018-07-29T21:49:15Z")
> [@bmasters1](#): > > That’s the best answer right there! If that’s what it is, I think it could just as much be the other way around-- that a Democratic President would think that only liberal sources reflect well on him (or her). How often did we hear Obama saying that the news was fake? Or Bush or Clinton or Reagan or Carter? Most public figures accept that they’re going to be criticized by their opponents. It’s part of the job. Trump needs to stop being such a snowflake. ---
**Author:** ![bmasters1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@bmasters1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmasters1)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-fake-news/818778/7 "2018-07-29T21:53:42Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > How often did we hear Obama saying that the news was fake? Or Bush or Clinton or Reagan or Carter? > > Most public figures accept that they’re going to be criticized by their opponents. It’s part of the job. > > Trump needs to stop being such a snowflake. Now as you put it that way, I’m very much in agreement-- I always thought he was a snowflake. To be honest, the way you put it, you’ve got a point there; I don’t think I’ve heard any other President in my 37 years on this Earth complain that there was fake news; Trump is the first one to do so that I have ever heard of. Hopefully, he’ll be the only one! ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-fake-news/818778/8 "2018-07-29T22:45:24Z")
> [@bmasters1](#): > > To be honest, the way you put it, you’ve got a point there; I don’t think I’ve heard any other President in my 37 years on this Earth complain that there was fake news; Trump is the first one to do so that I have ever heard of. Hopefully, he’ll be the only one! I’m sure if we went looking, we’d find individual examples of presidents calling out individual reports as being false. What’s unique about Trump is the wholesale dismissal of virtually all media as being “fake news”. ---
**Author:** ![Kelby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a587f6/32.png) [@Kelby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelby)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-fake-news/818778/9 "2018-07-29T22:54:55Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > I’m sure if we went looking, we’d find individual examples of presidents calling out individual reports as being false. What’s unique about Trump is the wholesale dismissal of virtually all media as being “fake news”. And now, even the “enemy of the people”. It’s quite remarkable, and frightening, actually. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2018, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-fake-news/818778/10 "2018-07-30T00:07:35Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Don’t pull that “both sides do it” crap around here. Democratic presidents haven’t done it, and frankly, neither have Republican presidents besides thump. Fuckin’ A. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2018, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-fake-news/818778/11 "2018-07-30T00:11:54Z")
“Fake News” wasn’t even a thing before president Orange Baby. It’s called projection. Watch Trump, you won’t have to wait long to see an example of it. Since the buffoon was aware of (and encouraging) Russian propaganda during the last Presidential election, he knew that “fake news” ie. propaganda was being spread. So he accuses his opponents of it because he is a 2 dimensional moron. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2018, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-fake-news/818778/12 "2018-07-30T00:28:35Z")
Fake news is a new thing. It used to be “nattering nabobs of negativism” (Spiro Agnew). If you wanted to find a Democratic president with an adversarial relationship with the press, LBJ would probably do. Mainly it had to do withe the Vietnam War. But I think he kept his venting in private, among his cabinet and advisers. I don’t know if he ever made public statements like Trump does. Trump is in a class by himself, certainly among modern presidents. And it ain’t a good class! ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2018, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-fake-news/818778/13 "2018-07-30T00:40:17Z")
It’s Trump directly attacking the first amendment, and he does it every day. He wants to destroy independent journalism. It’s very Orwellian, especially the news that gets label fake tends to be quite a bit more accurate than the news Trump likes. He should be impeached just for this, and the fact that we mostly just laugh it off as Trump being Trump is awful. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2018, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-fake-news/818778/14 "2018-07-30T01:28:11Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > It’s Trump directly attacking the first amendment, and he does it every day. He wants to destroy independent journalism. Cite for those claims, please. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2018, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-fake-news/818778/15 "2018-07-30T01:35:21Z")
I’m sure that plenty of presidents, of both parties, have disliked the press, and that many of them haven’t been shy about saying so. But Trump is the only one accusing them of wholesale lying. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2018, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-fake-news/818778/16 "2018-07-30T01:40:44Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Cite for those claims, please. List of acceptable cites, please. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2018, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-fake-news/818778/17 "2018-07-30T01:58:56Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > It’s Trump directly attacking the first amendment, and he does it every day. He wants to destroy independent journalism. > [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Cite for those claims, please. > [@running\_coach](#): > > List of acceptable cites, please. How about list of claims that he wants cites for, first? I didn’t see any claims of facts in the quoted post, only opinions. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2018, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-fake-news/818778/18 "2018-07-30T02:14:35Z")
So nobody has any cites, just as I thought. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2018, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-fake-news/818778/19 "2018-07-30T02:28:20Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > So nobody has any cites, just as I thought. Which particular claim(s) do you want a cite for? ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2018, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-fake-news/818778/20 "2018-07-30T02:53:09Z")
> [@bmasters1](#): > > I don’t think I’ve heard any other President in my 37 years on this Earth complain that there was fake news I’ve never heard _any_ public figure of any kind, complain about anything the way Trump complains about everything. For a self-styled alpha male, he constantly complains about how unfairly he’s treated in bitch fashion. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-fake-news/818778.md?page=2)