What Donald Trump said about 'scum' in the US media and why he is so angry

Having taken aim at the news outlets in a sweary outburst on Tuesday, the president lashed out again at a Nato summit in The Hague on Wednesday.

Mr Trump is in the Netherlands to discuss a way forward in the Iran-Israel crisis, with both countries having angered him by continuing to engage in conflict after a ceasefire.

He told the media that nuclear sites in Iran have been “totally obliterated” in US airstrikes which have “ended the war”.

The president has an infamous love-hate relationship with the media but has condemned certain sections of it in stronger terms than ever this week.

What has Donald Trump said about the US media and why?

CNN was the first outlet to face Mr Trump’s wrath, with the president willing to swear while live on air while addressing the media outside the White House on Tuesday.

Angered by Iran and Israel both defying a ceasefire that he had declared, Mr Trump took issue with how the B2 strike on Iranian nuclear stations, which he had ordered, had been covered.

“I think it’s been completely demolished, the reason we are here is because those B2 pilots did an unbelievable job,” he said of the reactors.

“The fake news, CNN in particular, they’re trying to say, ‘Well, it was destroyed but maybe not that destroyed,’ they’re really hurting great pilots who put their lives on the line.

“CNN is scum and so is MSNBC, frankly the networks aren’t much better… It's all fake news. They should not have done that. The pilots hit their targets and the pilots should be credited.

“They’re not after the pilots, they’re after me.”

He added: “CNN all night long, they’re saying maybe it wasn’t as demolished as… You take a look and that place is gone. I think CNN ought to apologise to the pilots, I think MSNBC ought to apologise, I think these guys, these cable networks are real losers.

“You guys are gutless losers, I say that to CNN. I watch it, I’ve got no choice, I’ve got to watch this garbage, it’s all garbage. It’s all fake news, I think CNN are gutless people.

“MSNBC is headed by a guy called Brian Roberts, he’s a disgrace, he’s a weak, pathetic disgrace.”

Which media outlets did Donald Trump take aim at?

The eight hour flight did little to calm down the Republican, who was as angry as ever at a news conference on Wednesday morning and wasted little time in doubling down on his offensive.

“It was a tremendous success,” said Mr Trump about the B2 raid.

“This is the New York Times, I call it the failing New York Times, it’s going to hell, and CNN, which very few people are watching, and it’s very demeaning to the pilots.”

He added: “CNN is really a disgraceful network, MSNBC I think is actually worse, they’re all pretty bad.”

He added that the pilots were “genius” but said their exploits had not been covered in their full glory because of “scum” in the media.

“CNN is scum,” he said. “MSNBC is scum. The New York Times is scum. They’re bad people, they’re sick. They’ve tried to make this unbelievable victory into something less.”

What have the media outlets, named by Donald Trump, said in response?

The New York Times, having published an article calling the strikes “unlawful”, had not published a response to Mr Trump’s comments at the time of writing.

MSNBC and CNN have also not published a formal response.