Trump Calls $100,000 Russia Spent on Facebook Ads to Elect Him ‘Tiny Amount,’ Likens it to Free Press
Again Downplays Severity of Russian Meddling
Donald Trump, having returned from his 74th trip to one of his golf courses since January, took to Twitter early Saturday evening to further downplay the severity of Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
“Officials behind the now discredited ‘Dossier’ plead the Fifth,†Trump began. “Justice Department and/or FBI should immediately release who paid for it!â€
Officials behind the now discredited “Dossier” plead the Fifth. Justice Department and/or FBI should immediately release who paid for it.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 21, 2017
The president then turned to the “tiny†amount of money Russia spent in divisive ads as part of its campaign to damage voters’ faith in the U.S. election system and to elect Donald Trump. Facebook revealed
Last month, Facebook revealed to Congress that Russians had bought $100,000 in ads from the social media giant, which could have reached 70 million Americans. Of note, 70,000 or so votes across three key states handed gave Donald Trump an Electoral College victory and thus, the presidency.
“Keep hearing about the ‘tiny’ amount of money spent on Facebook ads,†Trump wrote. “What about the billions of dollars of Fake News on CNN, ABC, NBC & CBS?â€
Keep hearing about “tiny” amount of money spent on Facebook ads. What about the billions of dollars of Fake News on CNN, ABC, NBC & CBS?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 21, 2017
Some reactions, via Twitter:
How about the “tiny” amount of time spent caring about our fallen hero today? pic.twitter.com/dCzyTbNfGM
— Jeremy Newberger (@jeremynewberger) October 21, 2017
That “Tiny†amount of money was paid by a foreign government to push for your win, which is illegal regardless of the money. pic.twitter.com/K62jdsAbQA
— SCROTUS (@_NotFakeNews_) October 21, 2017
It sounds like someone really doesn’t want people reporting on Russia’s meddling in our election. https://t.co/r9ufBxSNWt
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) October 21, 2017
The president is suggesting that US news networks are equal or worse to a Kremlin-backed effort to subvert American democracy. Despicable. https://t.co/aEGJTA9CWe
— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) October 21, 2017Â
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