CBS' John Dickerson: Trump Is “Trying To Define All News As Fake News”

Dickerson: Trump Is Trying To Control And “Delegitimize” The Press “Through Intimidation”

From the January 11 edition of CBS' CBS Evening News with Scott Pelly:

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SCOTT PELLEY (HOST): It was hard to tell in the president-elect's news conference today whether he was more disgusted with his intelligence community or with the media. John Dickerson is here, our CBS News political director and anchor of Face The Nation. John, Mr. Trump is rewriting the relationship with the press. 

JOHN DICKERSON: He is. All presidents try to do this. They try the control the message by controlling the press. Donald Trump is trying to do it through intimidation, to soften up the stories about him, but he's also seeking to delegitimize the press. That isn't to say -- he's not complaining about a specific story. He's saying that there is a battle between himself and the press and that's an attempt to basically take the value away from what the press does. 

PELLEY: Let's have a look at something else he said in the news conference today. 

[...]

PELLEY: So does Donald Trump need the press the way other presidents have? 

DICKERSON: You see he's trying to define all news as fake news, and he can also use Twitter to get his message out. Usually presidents, in their attempts to control the press, fail because they ultimately need the press to get their message out. He has Twitter, he also has a following that is more apt to believe that the press is out to get Donald Trump.

But, his favorability ratings are about 43 percent. To get the rest of the country, to speak to the rest of the country, he needs the validation of the press to get his message across from something that's not just his own mouth, and that's where usually it breaks down for presidents who try and go after the press. 

Previously:

Right-Wing Media Are Using The Term “Fake News” To Attack Credible News Sources

Trump Punishes CNN After It Challenged Him, Rewards Breitbart For Sucking Up

The Guide To Donald Trump's War On The Press (So Far)