In tweet blitz, Trump defends his use of social media

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — President Donald Trump escalated an intensely personal feud with two high-profile talk show hosts Saturday, suggesting without evidence that their network is biased against him.

The president’s stream of insults has pained politicians from both parties who have appealed to him, without apparent success, to stop the 140-character bursts of character attacks and focus on running the country. Saturday evening, Trump was at it again.

Trump lashed out at Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, co-hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” on Twitter earlier Saturday. From his New Jersey golf club, he said: “Crazy Joe Scarborough and dumb as a rock Mika are not bad people, but their low rated show is dominated by their NBC bosses.”

Trump also said that Greta Van Susteren lost her nightly show on MSNBC because she “refused to go along w/ ‘Trump hate!’” MSNBC confirmed this week that Van Susteren, previously a longtime anchor at Fox News, was being replaced.

NBC declined comment on all the tweets Saturday from the president. “Morning Joe” just finished the highest-rated quarter in the show’s history. MSNBC never officially gave a reason for replacing Van Susteren’s show.

Later in the day, Trump renewed his screed against the media.

“The FAKE &FRAUDULENT NEWS MEDIA is working hard to convince Republicans and others I should not use social media – but remember, I won the 2016 election with interviews, speeches and social media. I had to beat #FakeNews, and did. We will continue to WIN!” Trump said on Twitter.

Trump drew broad condemnation for his tweets on Thursday calling Brzezinski “crazy” and saying she was “bleeding badly from a face-lift” when he saw them at his Florida estate. The comment was decried as sexist and vulgar by many Democrats and Republicans.