Eric Trump, one of the president’s sons, said Thursday night that everyone in his family had white powder sent to their homes and argued that the media is hypocritical.
“I’ve been threatened. Don’s [Donald Trump Jr.] been threatened. All of us. We’ve all had white powder show up at our house,” Mr. Trump said in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
Just a few months earlier in February, Vanessa Trump was hospitalized as a precaution after she opened an envelope containing white powder. Authorities found the substance to be non-poisonous.
Thankful that Vanessa & my children are safe and unharmed after the incredibly scary situation that occurred this morning. Truly disgusting that certain individuals choose to express their opposing views with such disturbing behavior.
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) February 12, 2018
The younger Trump brother, who also runs the Trump organization, did not go into much detail about these threats. He mentioned them as an example of a double standard between conservatives and liberals. Mr. Trump argued that there isn’t as much national outrage when conservatives are threatened or harassed by critics.
“And by the way, there’s no moral outrage over that,” he said about the white powder and other harsh criticism toward members of his family.
Mr. Trump specifically cited the recent treatment of CNN reporter Jim Acosta at his father’s rally in Tampa Tuesday night.
“They spew nonsense all day and then little Jim Acosta gets belittled at a rally and all of a sudden, ’I’m holier than [thou],’ ” he said, “It’s really incredible.”
The tension between members of the Trump administration and the media ramped up again this week, especially over the phrase “enemy of the people.”
After the president’s rally, Mr. Acosta pressed White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to explicitly say that the press is not “the enemy of the people.” She responded that the president made his opinion clear on the subject before.
I walked out of the end of that briefing because I am totally saddened by what just happened. Sarah Sanders was repeatedly given a chance to say the press is not the enemy and she wouldn’t do it. Shameful.
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) August 2, 2018
The president’s eldest daughter and a senior adviser, Ivanka Trump, broke with the administration on using that rhetoric and disagreed with the phrase.
However, the president responded to her comment and specified that fake news, which is a “large percentage” of the media, should be considered an enemy.
They asked my daughter Ivanka whether or not the media is the enemy of the people. She correctly said no. It is the FAKE NEWS, which is a large percentage of the media, that is the enemy of the people!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 2, 2018
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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