Even at President Donald Trumpâs go-to news network, his constant scorn for and attacks on journalists are wearing thin with at least one high-profile reporter.
Fox Newsâ chief White House correspondent John Roberts responded via Twitter on Thursday after Trump â in a slight variation to his usual refrain â referred to the news media as âthe real enemy of the peopleâ (apparently in contrast to Russia).
âThat makes me an enemy of the state,â Roberts said.
Trump came under siege for his widely panned comments at Mondayâs Helsinki summit with Vladimir Putin, in which he seemed unconcerned about the U.S. intelligence communityâs findings of Russian interference in the 2016 election and gave credence to Putinâs denials of such actions. Even diehard supporters like former House Speaker Newt Gingrich aired their disappointment with Trump.
Trump awkwardly and absurdly sought to reverse course on Tuesday, insisting that when he said on Monday that âI donât see any reason why it would be Russiaâ [interfering with U.S. politics], he meant to say âwouldnâtâ instead.
As he continued to try to dig himself out of his self-created hole as the week progressed, his Thursday âreal enemy of the peopleâ tweet showed that American journalists doing their job irritates him more than a Putin-led effort to subvert the U.S. democratic process.
And despite Robertsâ willingness to cast his lot with the âenemyâ camp, Fox News remains âmust-seeâ TV for Trump â at least as long as Sean Hannity anchors its primetime schedule.