President Trump went after MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski on Thursday, calling her "crazy" and claiming she was once "bleeding badly from a face-lift" at his Mar-a-Lago club.
In two tweets, the president attacked the Morning Joe hosts, calling Joe Scarborough "Pyscho Joe" and labeling Brzezinski "low I.Q. Crazy Mika."
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..
The president also said Brzezinski was "bleeding badly from a face-lift" when he met her at Mar-a-Lago around New Year's Eve.
...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!
Photos of Brzezinski from the event Trump was referring to show that he was lying about her "bleeding" from a "face-lift.
Brzezinski has not officially responded to Trump's comments, but she tweeted a photo of a Cheerios' cereal box with the words "made for little hands" — appearing to allude to the longstanding joke over the size of the president's hands.
In a statement, a spokesperson for MSNBC told BuzzFeed News, "It’s a sad day for America when the president spends his time bullying, lying, and spewing petty personal attacks instead of doing his job."
The president's tweets came after Thursday morning's show where Scarborough and Brzezinski were discussing Trump's fake Time magazine cover that is hung at several of his golf resorts.
Scarborough was poking fun at the fake cover with a spoof GQ cover of himself that the show created.
During this segment, Brzezinski said, “Nothing makes a man feel better than making a fake cover of a magazine about himself, lying every day, and destroying the country.”
She went on to say that in the photo, “he’s covering his hands because they’re teensy.”
His tweet came after this one, by the White House social media director, who previously managed a golf club for Trump.
#DumbAsARockMika and lover #JealousJoe are lost, confused & saddened since @POTUS @realDonaldTrump stopped returning their calls! Unhinged.
Trump's tweets come in the wake of his renewed attacks against media organizations that publish stories he doesn't like, including CNN, NBC, CBS and ABC.
So they caught Fake News CNN cold, but what about NBC, CBS & ABC? What about the failing @nytimes & @washingtonpost? They are all Fake News!
On Tuesday, the president — who has been criticized over past lewd comments towards women — made a female reporter come to his desk to comment on her looks.
In a moment that went viral, Trump beckoned reporter Caitriona Perry during the middle of his call with the Irish prime minister, and said, "She has a nice smile on her face, so I bet she treats you well."
White deputy press secretary, Sarah Sanders, defended Trump's tweets saying, "This is a president who fights fire with fire."
In an interview with Fox News, Sanders said, "I don't think the president has ever been someone who gets attacked and doesn't push back."
"This is a president who fights fire with fire," she said, adding, "And certainly will not be allowed to be bullied by liberal media, or liberal elites within the media, or Hollywood, or anywhere else."
Sanders said there have been "an outrageous number of personal attacks" by Morning Joe hosts against the president and people around him.
"The people on that show have personally attacked me many times," she said. "I've seen far worse things come out of that show directed not just at the president but everyone around him — personal attacks, mean, hateful attacks."
A spokeswoman for Melania Trump told a CNN reporter, "As the First Lady has stated publicly in the past, when her husband gets attacked, he will punch back 10 times harder."
.@StephGrisham45: "As the First Lady has stated publicly in the past, when her husband gets attacked, he will punch back 10 times harder."
Many rebuked the president for his tweets, including Republican senator Lindsey Graham, who said the "tweet was beneath the office."
Mr. President, your tweet was beneath the office and represents what is wrong with American politics, not the greatness of America.
Sen. Ben Sassse, also a Republican, tweeted, "Please just stop. This isn't normal and it's beneath the dignity of your office."
Please just stop. This isn't normal and it's beneath the dignity of your office.
Republican Congresswoman, Lynn Jenkins, tweeted, "This is not okay. As a female in politics I am often criticized for my looks. We should be working to empower women."
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
This Senator, a Democrat, said the comments warrant an apology:
If you can't stifle the press, then you attack them personally. Today's tweets from Donald Trump are unpresidential and warrant an apology.
The tweets also drew sharp criticism from many in the media.
Dear @realDonaldTrump, You are a pig. Sincerely, Bill Kristol https://t.co/2IG7yXmCs4
The senior vice president of communications for the NBCUniversal News Group said, "Never imagined a day when I would think to myself, 'it is beneath my dignity to respond to the President of the United States.'"
Never imagined a day when I would think to myself, "it is beneath my dignity to respond to the President of the United States."
CNN anchor Jake Tapper reminded everyone that Melania Trump had announced a campaign against cyber-bullying.
This reminds me: how is @FLOTUS's campaign against cyber-bullying going? https://t.co/X4xmyreGLH
BuzzFeed News reached out to the White House for comment.
Tom Namako is the deputy news director for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York.
Contact Tom Namako at tom.namako@buzzfeed.com.
Tasneem Nashrulla is a reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York.
Contact Tasneem Nashrulla at tasneem.nashrulla@buzzfeed.com.
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