Donald Trump Blasted by His Old Favorite Newspaper After 'Unhinged' Threats
Former President Donald Trump was criticized by the New York Post after he warned on social media about "death & destruction" if he's indicted in relation to the hush money payment investigation involving adult film star Stormy Daniels.
"He hasn't changed in the slightest. There is no shame," the newspaper's editorial team wrote in an op-ed article that was published Friday.
"After riling up rioters, cheering for a coup, and agreeing that his vice president needed to be hanged, he's back to making violent threats against fellow Americans," the editorial read in reference to the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, when Trump's supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building in an attempt to stop the certification of Joe Biden's 2020 election victory.
The New York Post was once Trump's favorite and one of his supporting media outlets, endorsing him for the 2020 presidential election. However, the Trump-leaning, Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper, changed its stance after the former president refused to concede in the election in which he lost to Biden.
Trump has touted claims of widespread voter fraud since his election loss, which have been dismissed in different courts over the lack of evidence. Those claims also pushed away conservative outlet Fox News after the network spent weeks dedicating its coverage to conspiracies ahead of the 2020 election, according to The Independent, a British online newspaper.
Meanwhile, the Post's editorial team wrote on Friday that the paper doesn't "disagree" that Trump should be upset about the New York investigation in which he could face a potential indictment. The probe was launched by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office after it was discovered that $130,000 was paid to Daniels by Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen ahead of the 2016 presidential election to keep secret an affair that Daniels claims she had with the former president in 2006.
"This is not a felony case, and Bragg trying to turn it into one is pure politics," the New York Post op-ed read. "But rather than seek his vindication in the courtroom, or even just make an impassioned speech, Trump wants to inspire a mob. Time and time again, Trump's responses have been unhinged, indicative, and self-defeating. And don't buy for a second when he says he's 'fighting for you.'"
Trump has repeatedly slammed Bragg, denied the affair ever took place, and called for his supporters to protest against his possible indictment. He also predicted last Saturday in a social media post that he would be arrested on Tuesday, which ultimately did not happen.
In a Truth Social post early Friday, Trump slammed Bragg amid strong indications that potential charges might be coming his way, making him the first president to be indicted in American history.
"What kind of person can charge another person, in this case a former President of the United States, who got more votes than any sitting President in history, and leading candidate (by far!) for the Republican Party nomination, with a Crime, when it is known by all that NO Crime has been committed, & also known that potential death & destruction in such a false charge could be catastrophic for our Country? Why & who would do such a thing? Only a degenerate psychopath that truely [sic] hates the USA!" he wrote.
When asked about Trump's Truth Social post, the former president's spokesperson Steven Cheung told Newsweek on Saturday that "what Alvin Bragg is doing represents the death and destruction of the justice system." Cheung gave no comments about the New York Post's editorial.
Trump has announced his 2024 presidential bid this past November, despite the several ongoing investigations against him, including the probe into his mishandling of hundreds of classified documents that were discovered by the FBI at his Mar-a-Lago residence, that might weaken his chances of winning. Trump has maintained his innocence in all of the investigations he is currently facing. Meanwhile, the former president is making his first 2024 presidential campaign stop in Waco, Texas, on Saturday.
Still, the Post pointed out that Trump is not what America currently needs, adding that he is only out to seek revenge and secure his own future.
"There is much wrong with the country. And yes, it will take someone strong to wade through the thicket of Establishment opposition to change. But Trump is not trying to make America a better place. He's not offering anyone apart from himself a better future. He's out for revenge. This is how Trump has been spending his time since announcing his run for president," the editorial read. "But he's not a mystery anymore. Americans know that Trump can't stop himself from nursing piddling grudges and throwing out childish insults."
