- The Washington Times - Tuesday, June 6, 2017

President Trump took to Twitter Tuesday to defend his use of Twitter, as the newspapers and morning TV news was rife with criticism that his social media habit was distracting from his agenda and undermining his administration.

“The FAKE MSM is working so hard trying to get me not to use Social Media. They hate that I can get the honest and unfiltered message out,” Mr. Trump tweeted.

A short time later, he hammered home his dissatisfaction with the mainstream media.

“Sorry folks, but if I would have relied on the Fake News of CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, washpost or nytimes, I would have had ZERO chance winning WH,” he said.

Mr. Trump came under fire in the news media for a series of tweets in recent days that caused a tiff with the London mayor and threatened to undermine his Supreme Court case to impose a temporary travel ban from six Muslim-majority countries.

The president’s tweets often succeed in rallying his supporters but also provide ammunition for his opponents in the news media and on Capitol Hill.

In another morning tweet, Mr. Trump took credit for Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen severing ties with Qatar over its support of Iran and terrorist groups. The development came on the heels of Mr. Trump’s historic visit to Saudi Arabia in which he pushed for Muslim countries to step up in the fight against radical Islamic terrorism.

“During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!” Mr. Trump tweeted.

• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.

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