ISLAMABAD – Donald Trump has tried to tamp down speculation of differenceswith daughter Ivanka over his remarks about the press by saying that it isthe ‘Fake News’ and not the entire media that is the enemy of the people,hours after she distanced herself from the US President’s comments.
Trump has repeatedly criticised the media before and during his presidency.
He has declared journalists to be “enemies of the people”, drawingcondemnation from across the political spectrum.
During an event on Thursday, when Ivanka was asked about her father’srepeated accusation that the media is the “enemy of the people”, she said,”No. I do not feel that the media is the enemy of the people.”
“I’ve received my fair share of reporting on me personally that I know notto be fully accurate, so I’ve had some sensitivity around why people haveconcerns and gripe, especially when they sort of feel targeted,” Ivanka,who is also Trump’s senior adviser, said.
Her remarks were construed as her differences with the president on thisissue.
However hours later, President Trump took to Twitter to clarify the issue.
“They asked my daughter Ivanka whether or not the media is the enemy of thepeople. She correctly said no. It is the FAKE NEWS, which is a largepercentage of the media, that is the enemy of the people! (sic),” hetweeted.
Asked at the White House briefing about Ivanka’s remarks, press secretarySarah Sanders refused to reject the president’s statements that the mediais the enemy of the people.
“The president’s rightfully frustrated; 90% of the coverage on him isnegative despite the fact that the economy is booming, ISIS is on the run,and American leadership is being reasserted around the world,”she said.