Reprinted with permission from MediaMatters.
President Donald Trump and his administration have waged an unprecedented war on the media since he took office. Here’s a look at some numbers that exemplify the conflicts throughout 2017:
Over 400: number of times Trump and his administration have attacked the press.
Over 20: number of current and former Trump administration officials who have publicly attacked the press.
166: number of times Trump has used the phrase “fake news,” “fakenews,” or “fake media” on Twitter since his inauguration.
At least 49: number of times Trump attacked CNN verbally or on Twitter. Trump has lashed out at CNN on Twitter and during a wide variety of public events, including, but not limited to, a roundtable discussion during Black History Month, a speech at the Department of Energy, a rally in Alabama, a speech in Pennsylvania that was meant to tout his tax plan, during a visit to Poland, and in a multitude of interviews on Fox News and conservative talk radio.
At least 38: number of times Trump attacked The New York Times verbally or on Twitter. Most of Trump’s attacks against The New York Times include him calling the paper “failing,” but Trump has also said to Breitbart News that the Times was “so evil and so bad,” and accused the paper of promoting its “sick agenda over National Security.”
At least 15: number of leaders or state media outlets in authoritarian countries that have used Trump’s “fake news” denunciation against their critics, according to Politico.
At least 190: number of insults Trump tweeted at “‘mainstream’ media” outlets according to The New York Times.
28: number of TV interviews the president has done since his inauguration, according to a Media Matters count.
20: number of Trump’s televised interviews that aired on Fox News or Fox Business since his inauguration as reported by The Associated Press.
8: number of Trump’s televised interviews that aired on news channels other than Fox News or Fox Business since his inauguration. This includes two interviews on The Christian Broadcasting Network, an interview with Mike Huckabee on Trinity Broadcasting Network, and an interview with Sharyl Attkisson on Sinclair. The other interviews were on ABC, CBS, and NBC.
95: number of times Trump has either tweeted at the program Fox & Friends or retweeted the show’s tweets since his inauguration.
21: number of times Trump has either tweeted about Fox News host Sean Hannity or his program since his inauguration.
Methodology:
Media Matters used Factba.se, Trump Twitter Archive and Media Matters’ tracker of the Trump administration’s war on the press for tallies throughout this piece.
Header image by Sarah Wasko / Media Matters
