“I think the problem we’ve got is, we’re talking about bogus stories,” president’s chief of staff says
Chief of Staff Reince Priebus is doubling down on President Donald Trump’s tweet from Friday in which he claimed the mainstream media is “the enemy of the American people.”Â
On Sunday’s “Face the Nation,” CBS News’ John Dickerson asked Priebus whether people should take Trump’s statement seriously (video above).Â
“Well, I think you should take it seriously. I think the problem we’ve got is, we’re talking about bogus stories,” Priebus responded.Â
“And it’s total garbage, so we spend 48 hours on bogus stories, and the American people suffer,” he added. “So I do think it’s a problem, and I think that the media needs to in some cases, not every case John, but in some cases, to get its act together.”Â
In response to Trump’s tweet, Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain warned that suppressing the free press is “how dictators get started.” But during an appearance on “Meet The Press,” Priebus insisted that Trump “believes in a free press.”Â
“The president believes in the First Amendment,” Priebus told NBC News’ Chuck Todd. “He believes in a free press … but there are some things that are really bad, and he categorizes that as fake news.
“What we’ve been through in the last 10 days has been unbelievable, the leaks, the fake stories, the anonymous accusations, that stuff is bad, and that’s what he’s referring to, I know where he’s coming from on this,” Priebus added. “But I can assure you he believes in a free press, the First Amemdment, he loves our Constitution. We just want to get this stuff back on the rails and more honest in regard to these really big accusations coming at us.”Â