Trump Triggered by Op-Ed Calling Out His ‘Attraction’ to Dictators: ‘Naive, Dumb, Failing NY Times!’

Caleb EcarmaNov 15th, 2017, 1:21 pm
 

In response to the New York Times editorial board publishing a piece suggesting President Donald Trump has an “attraction” to “authoritarian” leaders, the president took to Twitter to go-off on the newspaper.

A favorite target for Trump’s tweets, the New York Times is typically referred to as “failing” and “lying” on his Twitter page — but this time the president threw in “naive,” “weak,” and “ineffective” for good measure.

While Trump did not mention the op-ed specifically, his attacks were triggered by the paper’s criticism of his new “great relationship” with President Xi Jinping of China. In the piece, the editorial board writes, “Authoritarian leaders exercise a strange and powerful attraction for President Trump. As his trip to Asia reminds us, a man who loves to bully people turns to mush — fawning smiles, effusive rhetoric — in the company of strongmen like Xi Jinping of China, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines.”

The writers went on to suggest Trump sees “a reflection of the person he would like to be” in these dictators, adding that this mindset could have “dangerous repercussions” in the long run.

Trump responded to the piece with a category three, un-threaded tweetstorm:

Say what you will about the president’s tweeting habits and his online attacks against the free press, but at least this time the posts were easier on the eyes as he didn’t go with exhausting 280-character Trump tweets.

[images via screengrab]

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Caleb Ecarma

Caleb Ecarma was a reporter at Mediaite. Email him here: caleb@mediaite.com Follow him on Twitter here: @calebecarma