On Monday morning, President Trump encouraged his 32.5 million Twitter followers to watch his personal lawyer be interviewed about the investigation into his campaign on his favorite TV show — Fox & Friends.
Trump deleted the tweet shortly after Jay Sekulow’s appearance wrapped up, but not before before it was screengrabbed for posterity.
Oh, he deleted it. pic.twitter.com/RigWR3bqm4
— Philip Bump (@pbump) June 19, 2017
Trump also found time on Monday morning to use his Twitter account to make an explicit endorsement of the Republican candidate in Tuesday’s special election in Georgia.
The Dems want to stop tax cuts, good healthcare and Border Security.Their ObamaCare is dead with 100% increases in P's. Vote now for Karen H
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2017
News he hasn’t found time to tweet about as this is published includes an attack in London that reportedly targeted Muslims (he’s been quick to comment when Muslims perpetrate attacks in that city, however), the seven American sailors who died on the USS Fitzgerald being identified, or Russia threatening US warplanes in Syria. This follows Trump’s pattern of using social media to highlight stories or create distractions useful for his political agenda, while downplaying or ignoring ones that aren’t.
And yet, in the first chaotic hours of the London Bridge attack, he was retweeting Drudge and using the moment to push for his travel ban. https://t.co/K2LZj39zqA
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) June 19, 2017
The love-fest between Trump and his favorite morning show has reached new heights since the inauguration. In February, Trump posted a tweet praising Fox & Friends while blasting CNN and MSNBC.
The fake news media is going crazy with their conspiracy theories and blind hatred. @MSNBC & @CNN are unwatchable. @foxandfriends is great!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 15, 2017
Since then, he’s live-tweeted Fox & Friends on numerous occasions.
.@foxandfriends Dems are taking forever to approve my people, including Ambassadors. They are nothing but OBSTRUCTIONISTS! Want approvals.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017
"The first 90 days of my presidency has exposed the total failure of the last eight years of foreign policy!" So true. @foxandfriends
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 17, 2017
Watch @foxandfriends now on Podesta and Russia!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 28, 2017
The interview Trump hyped Monday morning featured Sekulow continuing to try and walk back a tweet Trump posted on Friday that seemingly confirmed Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating him for obstruction of justice by saying, “I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director.”
Sekulow suggested that since he hasn’t been notified by investigators that Trump is under investigation, the Washington Post’s report about Trump being under investigation is false — overlooking the fact that for a variety of reasons, targets of investigations aren’t always notified.
A short time later, Sekulow went on CNN and tried to undermine the credibility of former FBI Director James Comey, who provided the first indication Trump is personally under investigation during his congressional testimony earlier this month.
President Trump's lawyer Jay Sekulow: "I wouldn't exactly call James Comey a credible witness on this matter" https://t.co/qaaxUxZ1nS
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) June 19, 2017
Trump’s continued focus on the Russia investigation comes despite him sharing a tweet from two of his followers on Sunday night that urged the media to stop talking about it.
On Friday, Politico reported that Trump is obsessed with the ongoing Russia probes.
“Trump, for months, has bristled almost daily about the ongoing probes,” Politico wrote, citing administration officials and outside advisers. “He has sometimes, without prompting, injected. ‘I’m not under investigation’ into conversations with associates and allies. He has watched hours of TV coverage every day — sometimes even storing morning news shows on his TiVo to watch in the evening — and complained nonstop.”
On Sunday, New York Magazine National Affairs editor Gabriel Sherman reported that Trump’s aides have all but given up trying to rein in his self-destructive Twitter behavior.
Source close to the WH told me other day that Bannon and Priebus have all but stopped trying to get Trump to stop tweeting insane things 1/2
— Gabriel Sherman (@gabrielsherman) June 18, 2017
Advisers stopped raising tweets with Trump because he lashes out when he's feeling controlled by staff. Legal team is pulling hair out 2/2
— Gabriel Sherman (@gabrielsherman) June 18, 2017