President Trump Hawks 'Fake News' Bumper Sticker

Even as FCC nominees were pledging to speak out against attacks on journalists, President Donald Trump was continuing to attack the media, going so far as to offer a new "fight fake news" bumper sticker in exchange for a donation to his joint fundraising committee with the RNC.

In an email signed by the president and circulated Wednesday, Trump let fly with now familiar broad-brush attacks:

"Friend,

I’ve said it before and I will say it again: the Fake News Media is the real opposition.

Rather than working to fix the problems this nation is facing, the Fake News Media and the Left are hand-in-hand peddling supposed 'news' based on anonymous sources and an unbelievable lack of journalistic integrity.

In fact, they’re so focused on bringing down the success of my administration -- that they’re forgetting about you, the American people.

It is nothing but a 24/7 barrage of hit jobs, fake stories, and absolute disdain for everything we stand for as a movement.

But Friend, I made a promise to stay focused on the American people.

And I will not forget about you or that promise.

This is a fight we can’t afford to lose. The future of our great country hangs in the balance. Stand with me in our fight against the FAKE NEWS with a contribution of $1 or more today."

Elsewhere in Washington, Democratic senators were calling on Republican leadership to hold a hearing on the state of the news media and attacks on journalists by the administration and others.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.