WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump launched a fresh attack on the news media on Sunday by tweeting a video — bizarre even by his standards — showing him knocking down and beating a professional wrestling “villain” whose face had been replaced by a CNN logo.

The 10-year-old video, hailing back to Trump’s days as a guest celebrity at pro-wrestling events, came after a week in which his unrestrained Twitter attacks on two MSNBC talk show hosts drew widespread condemnation from members of both political parties.

The latest tweet was immediately condemned by journalists, who said Trump seemed to be promoting violence against the media, while a Republican lawmaker said the president was trying to “weaponise distrust” through his postings.

But administration officials insisted Trump has a right to respond to critical coverage.

In the 28-second video, Trump, in a suit and tie, is seen knocking down another man in a suit who is standing next to a wrestling ring. Trump repeatedly pummels the fallen man, whose face is covered by the CNN logo. A fake CNN logo then appears on the screen reading “FNN: Fraud News Network.”

A longer version of the video online shows that the man being beaten was World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) owner-promoter Vince McMahon, a friend of Trump’s. In that version, Trump also gets in the ring to shave McMahon’s head as part of the “The Battle of the Billionaires” at the WrestleMania 23 event.

McMahon was present at the White House in February to pose smilingly with the president when his wife Linda McMahon — herself a former WWE executive — was sworn in as Trump’s Small Business Administration chief.

Trump has recently stepped up his attacks on the news media. Besides the crude attack on MSNBC co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski — he called her “low I.Q.” and said he had seen her bleeding after a facelift — he has also specifically bashed outlets including CNN, NBC, The Washington Post and The New York Times.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2017