Trump Cites Ian Bremmer Tweet as Reason Why Libel Laws Should Change

President Donald Trump talks on the phone aboard Air Force One during a flight to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to address a joint gathering of House and Senate Republicans, Thursday, January 26, 2017. This was the President’s first trip aboard Air Force One. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)

President Donald Trump talks on the phone aboard Air Force One during a flight to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to address a joint gathering of House and Senate Republicans, Thursday, January 26, 2017. This was the President’s first Trip aboard Air Force One. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)

On Sunday morning, Ian Bremmer, an author, and professor, with almost half a million Twitter followers, tweeted a fake quote which he attributed to the U.S President. He later deleted the tweet after receiving backlash from other journalists and political analysts and President Trump tweeting about the dangers of fake news. Trump has since called for libel laws to be modified so that they hold journalist more accountable.

Fake News

Ian Bremmer
Ian Bremmer

Yesterday, Bremmer tweeted a quote attributed to the president, “Kim Jong Un is smarter and would make a better President than Sleepy Joe Biden.” His tweet quickly gained traction and was, at first, believed by many, but soon became the product of severe backlash. After the quote was questioned by his followers, Bremmer simply replied that it was “plausible,” but did not confirm that he had made up the tweet.

He later followed up on his original tweet, apologizing for any confusion and saying it had just been “in jest.” He also deleted his initial tweets.

Ludicrous Quote

President Trump, who was in Japan at that time, joined the conversation on Monday morning, saying that this is “what’s going on in the age of Fake News.” He continued by saying that something should be done to stop journalists from publishing fake news, hinting that the libel laws should be changed to hold more people accountable.

This isn’t the first time Trump has called for a change in libel laws but in the past, Brian Hauss, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, has said that the authority to change those laws falls under the state’s jurisdiction and not the federal. [1]

 

 


Notes:

  1. ^Ishwar, Shivani. “President Trump calls for a change in libel laws to ‘hold Fake News Media accountable’.” The Week, 27 May. 2019, theweek.com/speedreads/843751/president-trump-calls-change-libel-laws-hold-fake-news-media-accountable. (go back  ↩)

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