Donald Trump has derided the mainstream media and those calling for his impeachment after the publication of BuzzFeed's controversial Trump-Russia story.
He said that BuzzFeed's "smoking gun" report, which alleged that he had instructed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about his business dealings with Russia, undermined the credibility of the mainstream media after Special Counsel Mueller called it "not accurate".
The Economy is one of the best in our history, with unemployment at a 50 year low, and the Stock Market ready to again break a record (set by us many times) — & all you heard yesterday, based on a phony story, was Impeachment. You want to see a Stock Market Crash, Impeach Trump!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 19 января 2019 г.
TV networks such as CNN and MSNBC have dedicated much of their airtime to the report; according to The Daily Caller, their anchors and guests floated the word "impeach" close to 200 times on Friday.
Donald Trump, however, stated that impeachment would result in a stock market crash.
The Economy is one of the best in our history, with unemployment at a 50 year low, and the Stock Market ready to again break a record (set by us many times) — & all you heard yesterday, based on a phony story, was Impeachment. You want to see a Stock Market Crash, Impeach Trump!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 19 января 2019 г.
He once again lamented his unfair treatment by the media.
.@newtgingrich just stated that there has been no president since Abraham Lincoln who has been treated worse or more unfairly by the media than your favorite President, me! At the same time there has been no president who has accomplished more in his first two years in office!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 19 января 2019 г.
His opponents went on to call for his impeachment and challenged his economic numbers.
He's preparing America for the Mueller report that will likely show a criminal conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and money laundering. He knows that his way out isn't to prove his innocence, but rather to sway the public's opinion of him as a leader. It won't work!
— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) 19 января 2019 г.
The stock market has fallen tremendously over the past few months because of your trade policies and the fear people have in the fact that we have a mad man running our country and trying to control the federal reserve.
— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) 19 января 2019 г.
Some commenters, on the other hand, rallied to his defence, arguing that Trump doing his job is not an impeachable offence.
Remember—
— CC (@ChatByCC) 19 января 2019 г.
“It’s the economy stupid.”
It would be a smart move for the dems & fake news to stop using the word Impeach. It’s not going to happen!
Their ignorance is outshined by their stupidity.
Normal people already knew it was a lie. People who believe lies want to impeach Trump, because they're easily manipulated.
— Adam Songmacher (@AgreeOrUrRacist) 19 января 2019 г.
BuzzFeed's bombshell piece has been the talk of the town in the United States. The media outlet dropped a claim that Michael Cohen was told by Donald Trump to lie to US congressmen — he reportedly told him to say the he was planning abandon plans for a real estate project in Moscow in January 2016, while, in fact, the negotiations continued through June. Additionally, BuzzFeed stated, citing two unnamed US officials, that Cohen was planning a trip to Russia for Donald Trump to meet with Vladimir Putin.
The White House has dismissed the allegations as "ridiculous", and a spokesman for Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Donald Trump's alleged collusion with Russia, disputed the report. According to The Washington Post, Mueller's office calling it "not accurate" referred to the whole story, rather than parts of it.
BuzzFeed insisted that it had cited reliable sources and requested clarification from the special counsel.