By AMANDA PRATS<\/p>\n
Fox News anchor Shepard Smith surprised many with a biting criticism of President Donald Trump on his show Thursday. Smith\u2019s comments were in response to the president\u2019s continued criticism of the news media, most recently during his Thursday press conference, which Smith described as “absolutely crazy.”<\/p>\n
During the press conference, President Trump berated CNN\u2019s Jim Acosta, averting his question and going on an extensive, dizzying rant about the news media.<\/p>\n
Smith was critical of the president\u2019s response to the question, defending Acosta and the news media as a whole.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not fools for asking the questions and we demand to know the answer to this question. You owe this to the American people,\u201d Smith said on his show, pressing the president to take reporters\u2019 questions seriously.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a right to know. You call us fake news and put us down like children for asking these questions on behalf of the American people,\u201d Smith said, referring to the president\u2019s habit of referring to widely regarded organizations as \u201cfake news.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith\u2019s response is only the latest in the saga of conflict between the president and the news media. Throughout his campaign, President Trump has repeatedly alleged that a plethora of news outlets are dishonest, ineffective or failing. The only program spared from the criticism seems to be the morning show “Fox & Friends,” for which the president has previously expressed his praise, and which he specifically mentioned during the press conference for being \u201cvery honorable people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the president\u2019s many attempts to discredit CNN, the news organization has not suffered, according to CNN President Jeff Zucker. In a state-of-the-company luncheon on Thursday, Zucker and other top executives from CNN and Turner announced that ratings are high, no advertisers have pulled out, and there has been no harm to the CNN brand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By AMANDA PRATS Fox News anchor Shepard Smith surprised many with a biting criticism of President Donald Trump on his show Thursday. Smith\u2019s comments were in response to the president\u2019s continued criticism of the news media, most recently during his … Continue reading