Trump attacked the media and Mark Milley with foul language in Mar-a-Lago | Donald Trump

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Speaking to diners at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Saturday night, Donald Trump called the American media “crooked bastards” and Gen Mark Milley, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, was a “ fucking idiot “.

The winding, stinking speech at Turning Point USA, a group for young conservatives, was streamed by Jack Posobiec, a rightwing blogger and provocateur.

The insult to the press reminded the barbs while Trump was in power, including calling reporters and editors “fake news” and the “enemy of the people”, attacking much of the media deemed dangerous, which invites political violence.

“The country is in a very important, dangerous place,” Trump said, amid familiar lies about his defeat in the 2020 election, which he said was the result of electoral fraud.

“We don’t have the press. The press is very corrupt. We have no press. If there’s a good story about us, a good story about any of those people who are Republicans, conservative, they make it a bad story. And if it’s a bad story, they make it the worst story in history. This is the most unfaithful group of people. ”

Trump said he changed the views of Americans on journalism, saying “when I first announced I was running in 2015 they had a 94% -95% approval rating. And right now they have a lower approval rating. than Congress.

“I consider that a great honor because they’re a bunch of dishonest, crooked bastards.”

Laughter greeted the statement.

Like most of Trump’s claims, his claim about media approval ratings is debatable.

In 2015, the year Trump ran for the White House, Gallup said 40% of Americans “had‘ a great deal ’or‘ a fair amount ’of trust and confidence in the mass media to report the news in full. , accurate and fair “.

In 2019, in the middle of Trump’s presidency, Suzanne Nossel, chief executive of PEN America, told the Guardian that her attacks on journalism were “destructive” and “intended to intimidate … a kind of dragging. -through-the-mud effort, a character assassination… and it’s disturbing ”.

In 2021, the year Trump left office, Gallup said 21% of Americans have “a good deal” or “somewhat” confidence in newspapers. For TV news, the figure is 16%. For Congress, it’s 12%.

Trump insulted Milley as part of a lengthy complaint about Joe Biden’s handling of the U.S. departure from Afghanistan. Imitating the general’s stern voice, Trump said: “I’ll never forget Milley saying to me, ‘Sir, sir. It’s cheaper to leave the equipment than take it.’

Trump said he asked: “Do you think it’s cheaper to leave it there so they can get it than to fill it with half a tank of gas and fly it to Pakistan or fly it back to our country?

“‘Yes, sir, we think it’s cheaper, sir.’

“That’s when I realized he was a fucking idiot.”

Trump regularly complains about Milley, especially in his description in bestselling books as a key figure in efforts to stop Trump at the end of his time in power.

Trump’s penchant for swearing was well known, until his four-year presidency prompted a soul-searching in several U.S. media outlets about which words could be properly printed.

The Guardian has long had some doubts.

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