The President of the United States used Twitter to take a very personal dig at a media personality on Thursday.
MSNBC host Mika Brezezinski was labelled “crazy” by Donald Trump after the president apparently took offence to comments made by her Morning Joe talk show.
Taking it a step further Trump relayed a story regarding Brezezinski and her co-host Joe Scarborough at his Mar-a-Lago golf resort.
I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don't watch anymore). Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2017
…to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year's Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2017
Trump said Brezezinski was “bleeding badly from a face-lift” during a visit to the resort.
The president has been criticised for airing personal grievances over Twitter to his 32 million followers.
CNN and ABC contributor Ana Navarro, who’s also a Republican strategist, accused Trump of “diminishing” the presidency.
Many snarky things I could say. But I won't. I am saddened by just how much Donald Trump has diminished the Presidency of our United States. https://t.co/VE20myjaPC
— Ana Navarro (@ananavarro) June 29, 2017
Others echoed that.
Mr. President, your tweet was beneath the office and represents what is wrong with American politics, not the greatness of America.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) June 29, 2017
Republican Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins said “this is not okay”.
This is not okay. As a female in politics I am often criticized for my looks. We should be working to empower women. https://t.co/sV6WDE0EUD
— Lynn Jenkins (@RepLynnJenkins) June 29, 2017
One user suggested this was a “new low” from a president who has never been timid with his use of social media.
Donald Trump is trying to plastic surgery-shame his media detractors. A new low from the Emperor of Lows™. https://t.co/G2Cp4lWZIs
— Hend Amry (@LibyaLiberty) June 29, 2017
But while a number of people leaped to Brezezinski’s defence, she quickly showed she didn’t need any help.
The political commentator, who serves as a visiting fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics, took just 21 minutes to seemingly respond.
— Mika Brzezinski (@morningmika) June 29, 2017
Brezezinski used the message on the back of a Cheerio’s box to insinuate Trump has tiny hands – something that was thrown at the president a number of times during the campaign.
During the presidential campaign Morning Joe and Trump’s relationship was largely cordial, but that’s changed since Trump took office. In March Brezezinski accused the administration of having “no credibility”.
The senior vice president of communications for the NBC Universal News Group, the parent company of MSNBC, shared his opinion on the exchange.
Never imagined a day when I would think to myself, "it is beneath my dignity to respond to the President of the United States."
— Mark Kornblau (@MarkKornblau) June 29, 2017
First Lady Melania Trump, who in the past said she’d work to eliminate cyberbullying, had this to say.
Melania Trump's comms director: "As First Lady has stated publicly…when her husband gets attacked, he will punch back 10 times harder."
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) June 29, 2017
This reminds me: how is @FLOTUS's campaign against cyber-bullying going? https://t.co/X4xmyreGLH
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) June 29, 2017
News of the Morning Joe hosts’ visit to Mar-a-Lago has been covered and criticised before, with Scarborough saying they were there to get an interview with the then-president elect.