Democrats erupt over Trump’s weekend threats against ‘fake news’ media

As the Iran strikes stretch into a third week, the Trump administration has threatened legacy media outlets over their coverage of the conflict.

On Sunday, President Trump took to Truth Social to blast the legacy media for their “FAKE NEWS” coverage of the last two weeks, suggesting a degree of cooperation between some American media outlets and the Iranian propaganda machine.

‘The Radical Leftwing Press knows this full well, but continues to go forward with false stories and LIES.’

“Iran has long been known as a Master of Media Manipulation and Public Relations. They are Militarily ineffective and weak, but are really good at ‘feeding’ the very appreciative Fake News Media false information. Now, A.I. has become another Disinformation weapon that Iran uses, quite well, considering they are being annihilated by the day,” Trump wrote.

Trump gave several examples of the types of imagery and videos he claims are generated by artificial intelligence, including Iranian “Kamikaze Boats shooting at various Ships at Sea,” several U.S. refueling planes having been “struck down and badly damaged,” and the “USS Abraham Lincoln Aircraft Carrier, one of the largest and most prestigious Ships in the World, burning uncontrollably in the Ocean.”

Trump called these stories “FAKE NEWS, generated by A.I.” He further explained of the USS Abraham Lincoln: “Not only was it not burning, it was not even shot at — Iran knows better than to do that!”

RELATED: Trump demands other nations clear Strait of Hormuz, claims NATO’s future at stake

Photo by Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images

Citing two U.S. officials, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday that “five U.S. Air Force refueling planes were struck and damaged on the ground at Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia.” The article, which appears to have been updated on Saturday at 12:18 p.m. ET, went on to say that the tankers were “damaged but not fully destroyed.”

Trump went on to suggest the severity of punishment that he believes is warranted for the “dissemination of false information”: “In a certain way, you can say that those Media Outlets that generated it should be brought up on Charges for TREASON for the dissemination of false information! The fact is, Iran is being decimated, and the only battles they ‘win’ are those that they create through AI, and are distributed by Corrupt Media Outlets. The Radical Leftwing Press knows this full well, but continues to go forward with false stories and LIES.”

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr made similar statements Saturday, stressing that it was time for the media to “correct course.” He also reposted a previous Truth Social post from Trump insisting that “the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal (In particular), and other Lowlife ‘Papers’ and Media actually want us to lose the War. Their terrible reporting is the exact opposite of the actual facts!”

Carr wrote: “Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions — also known as the fake news — have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up. The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not.”

“Time for change!” he added.

Many of Trump’s Democrat opponents and members of the media have since spoken out against his calls for punishing the “fake news” media.

On Friday, CNN chairman and CEO Mark Thompson issued a statement about the outlet’s reporting:

We stand by our journalism. Politicians have an obvious motive for claiming that journalism which raises questions about their decisions is false. At CNN our only interest is in telling the truth to our audiences in the U.S. and around the world and no amount of political threats or insults is going to change that.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) weighed in on Carr’s post on Saturday: “If Trump doesn’t like your coverage of the war, his FCC will pull your broadcast license. That is flagrantly unconstitutional.”

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), who has been under fire for months over his involvement in a video encouraging military service members and intelligence personnel to “refuse illegal orders,” likewise criticized the threats from the Trump administration: “When our nation is at war it is critical that the press is free to report without government interference. It is literally in the Constitution. This is overreach by the FCC because this Administration doesn’t like the microscope and doesn’t want to be held accountable.”

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) told Carr: “Take your fascist s**t and shove it.”

The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!