Trump blasts press freedom as 'frankly disgusting'

(Image credit: Screenshot/Twitter/CNN)

published 11 October 2017

President Trump skewered the free press Wednesday, telling reporters that "it is frankly disgusting that the press is able to write whatever it wants to write."

The comments followed Trump's tweets Wednesday morning, which reacted to an NBC News story that claimed the president had called for the nuclear arsenal to be increased "tenfold." "With all of the fake news coming out of NBC and the networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their license?" Trump asked.

When pressed in the afternoon about whether there should be limits on the media, Trump said "no," but he did add that reporters should write "more honestly." Citing no evidence, Trump said: "When they make up stories like that, it's just made up … They make up sources." Jeva Lange

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.