In yet another tweet lambasting the media, President Donald Trump called on the American people to not believe reports of a struggling administration and claimed once again that he inherited a “mess” from his predecessor.
President Donald Trump salutes as he arrives a Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla., Friday, Feb. 17, 2017. Trump is spending a third weekend in a row at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Susan Walsh
AP
Trump first made this claim during his Thursday press conference while criticizing the number of leaks from the intelligence community and his own administration. In that press conference, Trump cited the Middle East, North Korea and job growth as particular issues where his White House came in facing significant problems. However, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment is at its lowest point since late 2007.
This marks the 16th time in February that Trump has referred to “fake news” or some variation of the phrase on Twitter. After he described the press as the “enemy of the American People” on Friday, the social media hashtag #NotTheEnemy began trending on Twitter and as of Saturday afternoon continues to be one of the top topics on the social media site.
However, according to a Fox News poll also released Friday, roughly equal portions of the public trust the White House over the news media and vice versa. According to the poll, 45 percent of Americans trust Trump’s administration more than the press to tell the public the truth, while 42 percent believe the opposite. That difference falls within the poll’s 3-point margin of error.
Later, Trump tweeted that he was scheduled to have “many meetings” this weekend while he stays at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, which he referred to as “the Southern White House.”
While in Florida, Trump is interviewing candidates to replace national security adviser Michael Flynn, who resigned last week after it was revealed he had lied about discussions he had with the Russian ambassador regarding sanctions against Russia implemented by Barack Obama, per Reuters.
In the past, Trump and his team have referred to Mar-a-Lago as the “Winter White House,” and he has spent the past three weekends there, an unusual amount of time away from the nation’s capital for a modern president. According to the Washington Post, Trump’s weekend trips have cost taxpayers around $10 million so far and could reach hundreds of millions of dollars in the future. In eight years, the Obama family’s personal trips cost $85 million, according to reports.