Skip to main content

'The Press Is Out of Control!' Trump Echoes Americans' Distrust of Mainstream Media

Share This article

President Donald Trump did not mince words as he met the media in the East Room of the White House.

"I turn on the TV, open the newspapers and I see stories of chaos. Chaos. Yet it is the exact opposite," Trump said during his first solo press conference on Thursday. "This administration is running like a fine-tuned machine, despite the fact that I can't get my cabinet approved. And they're outstanding people."

The president covered a wide range of subjects, including the increase in optimism among businesses since he took office, and the soaring stock market, executive orders that cut regulations, and a successful roll-out of his nominee to the Supreme Court as proof things are running smoothly.

The president also pushed back on media reports that his campaign advisers may have had inappropriate contacts with Russian officials.
 
And he wasn't shy about expressing his frustration with what he called a dishonest media.

"We have to talk about it to find out what's going on because the press honestly is out of control," he said. "The level of dishonesty is out of control."

It appears most of America shares Trump's lack of confidence in the media.

Only 32 percent of Americans say they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media, according to Gallup's annual confidence poll from last September.

That's the lowest ever since Gallup started asking the question in 1972.

Meanwhile, Trump's pick for U.S. ambassador to Israel had his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
 
It didn't take long before bankruptcy lawyer David Friedman was interrupted by demonstrators, including a person who opposed Israeli settlements.

"Mr. Friedman also said that Palestinian refugees don't have a claim to the land, don't have a connection to Palestine, when in fact they do," one demonstrator said.

When he wasn't interrupted, Friedman did answer a question about settlements and a two-state solution that would give the Palestinians their own nation side by side with Israel.

"You, of course, have been involved in supporting settlements, and in conversations that seem to imply that the two-state solution is no longer a viable option," Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., said. "What do you mean by that?"

"Senator, if the Israelis and the Palestinians were able through direct negotiations to achieve a two-state solution along parameters agreeable to them -- and the prime minister of Israel yesterday outlined some of them -- I would be delighted," Friedman responded.

Still, Friedman acknowledged he had some doubts.

"I have expressed my skepticism about the two-state solution solely on the basis of what I've perceived as an unwillingness on the part of the Palestinians to renounce terror and accept Israel as a Jewish state," he said.

Share This article

About The Author

Mark
Martin

Mark Martin currently serves as a reporter and anchor at CBN News, reporting on all kinds of issues, from military matters to alternative fuels. Mark has reported internationally in the Middle East. He traveled to Bahrain and covered stories on the aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Dwight D. Eisenhower. Mark also anchors CBN News Midday on the CBN Newschannel and fills in on the anchor desk for CBN News' Newswatch and The 700 Club. Prior to CBN News, Mark worked at KFSM-TV, the CBS affiliate in Fort Smith, Arkansas. There he served as a weekend morning producer, before being promoted to general