US President Donald Trump posted a short video clip on his twitter, body slamming and punching a person with the CNN logo for a head.
The tweet went ubiquitous on social media and sparked outrage among the journalists. In response, the CNN accused the president of inciting violence against the media.
The video is an edited version of Donald Trump's appearance at a WWE wrestling event in 2007, in which he "attacked" franchise owner Vince McMahon in a scripted appearance.
#FraudNewsCNN #FNN pic.twitter.com/WYUnHjjUjg
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 2, 2017
The controversial post was also retweeted by the official presidential Twitter account, @POTUS, operated by the White House.
CNN also termed it as an attack on media for making the Trump’s fundraisers happy. Politicians and celebrities took to twitter on Sunday to blast the tweet:
TV personality Andy Cohen bashed Trump in a tweet, saying: “Sweetie u cray.”
Others expressed shock and outrage that America’s commander in chief appeared to incite violence against the press.
When asked if the president’s tweet violated Twitter’s standards against harassment or inciting violence, a Twitter spokeswoman told HuffPost: “We don’t comment on individual accounts, for privacy and security reasons.”
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has also described Trump’s tweets on his own account as “official statements by the president.”