Trump: Facebook Turning Over Ads Part of ‘Russia Hoax’
President blames ‘biased and dishonest’ coverage of Clinton
President Donald Trump on Friday tweeted he believed Facebook’s intent to turn Kremlin-linked ads over to congressional committees investigating influence over the 2016 presidential election to be part of what he considered the “Russia hoax.”
The social media site’s chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said Thursday it would turn over 3,000 Russia-linked ads after two weeks on the defensive amid growing pressure from Congress for it to expose Russian propaganda in which fictional people posed as American activists, The New York Times reported.
“The Russia hoax continues, now it’s ads on Facebook,” Trump tweeted before turning his attention to his Democratic rival. “What about the totally biased and dishonest Media coverage in favor of Crooked Hillary?”
The president went on to lambaste what he often calls the “Fake News Media,” which he believed had “the greatest influence over our election.”
The greatest influence over our election was the Fake News Media “screaming” for Crooked Hillary Clinton. Next, she was a bad candidate!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 22, 2017
Trump also spent the morning taking swipes at other rivals — namely North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, whom the president called “a madman” the same week he referred to Kim as “Rocket Man” during an address to the United Nations.
Trump and Kim have repeatedly exchanged heated threats in recent months but Trump’s tweet came after Kim, in a rare statement, called the president a “deranged” individual who was “a rogue and a gangster fond of playing with fire,” The Associated Press reported.
The president also had words Friday morning for Sen. Rand Paul, who has indicated he could cast a “no” vote on the latest iteration of a bill that would repeal and replace the 2010 health care law.
Trump said any GOP member who did not support the bill would be known on the campaign trail as “the Republican who saved ObamaCare.”
Rand Paul, or whoever votes against Hcare Bill, will forever (future political campaigns) be known as “the Republican who saved ObamaCare.”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 22, 2017
About an hour later, Paul, a Kentucky Republican, took to his own Twitter account to defend his stance.
“No one is more opposed to Obamacare than I am, and I’ve voted multiple times for repeal,” Paul said. “The current bill isn’t repeal.”
I won’t vote for Obamacare Lite that keeps 90% of the taxes & spending just so some people can claim credit for something that didn’t happen
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) September 22, 2017
The Senate intends to bring to the floor next week another iteration of a health care bill, this time sponsored by Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.
The measure would provide block grant funding to states and repeal parts of the law, but keep in place most of the taxes that were created with it.