Alternate reality star Donald Trump, per usual, has taken to Twitter to spread his violent, authoritarian-tinged messages. On Tuesday morning, Trump posted an image of a cartoon that showed a train with his name written over it, bulldozing a man with the CNN logo edited over his face. Above the picture are the words "FAKE NEWS CAN'T STOP THE TRUMP TRAIN."
The failed businessman, who regularly lies and spews outrageous falsities, has been waging a war of words with the press since his campaign, but CNN has been his favorite target. The violent tweet was promptly deleted minutes after it was posted. Trump, who is perhaps best known for his dangerous rhetoric, has openly advocated punching Black Lives Matter protesters and encouraged law enforcement to physically rough up suspects in the past.
In July, Trump continued his assault on the press by posting a video of a 2007 WWE fight to Twitter that featured the logo of CNN imposed over the face of WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. The clip shows Trump throwing the fake CNN opponent to the ground and hitting him multiple times.
The timing and similarity of Trump's train tweet to reality couldn't be more chilling. It has only been a few days since anti-racist counter-protester Heather D. Heyer was killed after being hit by terrorist James Alex Fields Jr. as he rammed his car through an unsuspecting crowd. Fields Jr. is facing second-degree murder charges. Over the weekend, a group of white nationalists, white supremacists, and neo-Nazis gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia to spread their messages of bigotry, hate, and intolerance. The group of racists quickly turned to violence as they fought against anti-racist and anti-fascist counter-protestors.
Trump was ultimately criticized for being slow to condemn the violent demonstration.
