Trump Demands Washington Post Retraction for Writer’s Personal Tweet on Crowd Size, Calls for His Firing

“Demand Apology & Retraction from FAKE NEWS WaPo!”

Size really matters to Donald Trump.

The president began his morning by boasting that the event he held in Pensacola, Florida late Friday, in which he attacked “The Resistance” and openly supported embattled Senate hopeful and accused child molester Roy Moore,  was “packed to the rafters.”

“GREAT EVENING last night in Pensacola, Florida,” Trump wrote. “Arena was packed to the rafters, the crowd was loud, loving and really smart. They definitely get what’s going on. Thank you Pensacola!”

Given the president’s longstanding obsession with crowd size, photos quickly emerged of the event on Twitter, with users attempting to prove he hadn’t packed the arena for Friday’s event. (Given his inability to fill the seats at the National Christmas Tree Lighting this year, it may not come as much of surprise to some.)

Some of the photos circulated were taken ahead of the event, while attendees were arriving—and one such photo was shared by Washington Post writer Dave Weigel on his personal account.

Hours later, Trump returned to Twitter to demand an apology and a retraction from Weigel’s employer.

“.@DaveWeigel @WashingtonPost put out a phony photo of an empty arena hours before I arrived @ the venue, w/ thousands of people outside, on their way in,” Trump wrote. “Real photos now shown as I spoke. Packed house, many people unable to get in. Demand apology & retraction from FAKE NEWS WaPo!”

Minutes later, Weigel responded. “Sure thing: I apologize,” he wrote, advising he deleted it after Daily Mail Editor David Martosko corrected him.

“It was a bad tweet on my personal account, not a story for Washington Post,” he clarified afterwards. “I deleted it after like 20 minutes. Very fair to call me out.”

Following the journalist’s apology, Donald Trump called for the private citizen to be fired.

“@daveweigel of the Washington Post just admitted that his picture was a FAKE (fraud?) showing an almost empty arena last night for my speech in Pensacola when, in fact, he knew the arena was packed (as shown also on T.V.),” Trump wrote. “FAKE NEWS, he should be fired.”

The President of the United States should have larger concerns. Also of note:

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