It’s truly unbelievable that President Donald Trump — a man with, arguably, the largest mouthpiece in the world — uses it to air petty grievances, push blatantly false conspiracies, and bully people. To anyone who thought his sophomoric behavior would end and he’d become presidential, it isn’t going to happen. Thursday, he launched an attack laced with sexist overtones on MSNBC “Morning Joe” hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough.
I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don’t watch anymore). Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2017
…to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year’s Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2017
In his tweets, Trump called Scarborough “Psycho,” but his comments about Brzezinski, calling her “low I.Q.” and saying her face was “bleeding badly from a face-lift,” drew heavy criticism. His tweets echo the graphic statements he made in August 2015 about TV anchor Megyn Kelly’s menstrual cycle. “You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever,” Trump said then.
MSNBC released a statement saying, “It’s a sad day for America when the president spends his time bullying, lying and spewing petty personal attacks instead of doing his job.” Brzezinski responded to Trump’s attacks with a light-hearted jab about the size of his hands.
— Mika Brzezinski (@morningmika) June 29, 2017
Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan condemned Trump’s tweets, saying, “Look, what we’re trying to do around here is improve the tone, the civility of the debate, and this obviously doesn’t help do that.”
Trump was chastised by Republicans in the Senate as well.
“It’s incumbent on all of us, then — from the President to Congress on down — to be responsible for our speech.” https://t.co/BVVKFll3Sj
— Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) June 29, 2017
This has to stop – we all have a job – 3 branches of gov’t and media. We don’t have to get along, but we must show respect and civility.
— Sen. Susan Collins (@SenatorCollins) June 29, 2017
Please just stop. This isn’t normal and it’s beneath the dignity of your office.
— Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) June 29, 2017
Mr. President, your tweet was beneath the office and represents what is wrong with American politics, not the greatness of America.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) June 29, 2017
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the president’s principal deputy press secretary, stood by Trump, defending the indefensible. “Look, I think what’s necessary is to push back against unnecessary attacks on the president, both personally. I’ve seen far worse things come out of [“Morning Joe”],” Huckabee Sanders said. “Again, directed not just at the president but at everyone around him — personal attacks, mean, hateful attacks and again, this president isn’t going to sit back and not push back, and he’s going to fight fire with fire and I think that’s exactly what he did today.”
Here are some more reactions on Twitter:
the donald trump villain origin story obviously includes the day he learned in health class that women “bleed” on a regular basis
— Oliver Willis (@owillis) June 29, 2017
Donald Trump’s tweets this morning about Morning Joe show that the President is not only utterly vile but mentally ill, a sociopath.
— Jeffrey D. Sachs (@JeffDSachs) June 29, 2017
Many snarky things I could say. But I won’t. I am saddened by just how much Donald Trump has diminished the Presidency of our United States. https://t.co/VE20myjaPC
— Ana Navarro (@ananavarro) June 29, 2017
Donald Trump got elected by showing America that he is an absolutely rotten human being. People ran to the polling stations to vote for him.
— Chidike Okeem (@VOICEOFCHID) June 29, 2017
Trump’s misogynist insults are annoying, but not nearly as enraging as his anti-woman policies https://t.co/I9mWm360DF
— Justin Miller (@justinjm1) June 29, 2017
