Trump calls for AT&T boycott over CNN 'fake news' coverage
The US president is once again lashing out at the cable news giant on Twitter as he lands in London for an official state visit.
President Trump took to Twitter after arriving in London on Monday, calling on AT&T to "do something" about "unfair" treatment he believes he receives on CNN.
President Donald Trump once again took to Twitter to complain that CNN's coverage of him is "unfair." But this time, he called on his supporters to boycott wireless and broadband giant AT&T , which owns CNN.
"I believe that if people stoped using or subscribing to @ATT, they would be forced to make big changes at @CNN, which is dying in the ratings anyway," Trump tweeted. "It is so unfair with such bad, Fake News! Why wouldn't they act. When the World watches @CNN, it gets a false picture of USA. Sad!"
I believe that if people stoped using or subscribing to @ATT, they would be forced to make big changes at @CNN, which is dying in the ratings anyway. It is so unfair with such bad, Fake News! Why wouldn’t they act. When the World watches @CNN, it gets a false picture of USA. Sad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2019
Trump sent out the tweet after arriving Monday morning in the UK, where he's on an official state visit, meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May and members of the British royal family. He's also in Europe to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion in Normandy during World War II. Trump complained in another tweet that CNN is the "primary source of news available from the US" in the UK and is providing a poor impression of the US.
Just arrived in the United Kingdom. The only problem is that @CNN is the primary source of news available from the U.S. After watching it for a short while, I turned it off. All negative & so much Fake News, very bad for U.S. Big ratings drop. Why doesn’t owner @ATT do something?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2019
Trump has repeatedly lashed out against CNN, calling its coverage "fake news," and making personal attacks against on-air personalities for their coverage of him and his administration.
Some critics of Trump have questioned whether the Department of Justice's lawsuit to stop AT&T's $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner was brought as political payback against CNN. As a candidate for president, Trump vowed to block the merger, saying it would concentrate too much power in one company.
Democrats on Capitol Hill have pushed for documents about the Justice Department's motivations and the White House's influence in deciding to take the case to court. So far the White House has refused to provide any documents.
During the trial, the Justice Department had repeatedly suggested that the judge consider forcing AT&T to divest some of Time Warner's cable channels. But AT&T rejected that idea, stating in a court filing that "divestitures here would destroy the very consumer value this merger is designed to unlock." Ultimately, AT&T prevailed in federal court.
AT&T did not immediately respond to a request comment.
