President Donald Trump launched a string of late-night attacks at MSNBC’ Brian Williams to Twitter on April 29, roasting the anchorman over his past apology for falsified coverage of the Iraq War. Trump said the longtime journalist “wouldn’t know the truth if it was nailed to his wooden forehead” before posting a video showing coverage of his 2015 suspension from NBC News. It’s unclear what exactly prompted the tweet storm aimed at Williams, but it could have to do with Williams’ opening statement on that night’s episode of The 11th Hour with Brian Williams. Williams began by counting down the days (188) until the 2020 general election, then lambasted the president for saying COVID-19 is “going away.”
“Lyin’ Brian Williams of MSDNC, a Concast Scam Company, wouldn’t know the truth if it was nailed to his wooden forehead. Remember when he lied about his bravery in a helicopter? Totally made up story. He’s a true dummy who was thrown off Network News like a dog. Stay tuned!” Trump said in his first tweet. On The 11th Hour, Williams also referenced reporting by The Washington Post that Trump’s slipping behind opponent Joe Biden in the polls, and that he allegedly screamed at his campaign manager when he found out. Williams said that NBC News and the Associated Press independently confirmed the account. Trump blasted the report right before launching into his Williams tirade, but blamed CNN for it.
He struck out at other anchors he doesn’t like, as well: “I must admit that Lyin’ Brian Williams is, while dumber than hell, quite a bit smarter than Fake News @CNN ‘anchorman’ Don Lemon, the ‘dumbest man on television.’ Then you have Psycho Joe ‘What Ever Happened To Your Girlfriend?’ Scarborough, another of the low I.Q. individuals!” Trump doubled down on his messages by retweeting them the next morning.
Lyin’ Brian Williams of MSDNC, a Concast Scam Company, wouldn’t know the truth if it was nailed to his wooden forehead. Remember when he lied about his bravery in a helicopter? Totally made up story. He’s a true dummy who was thrown off Network News like a dog. Stay tuned!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 30, 2020
I must admit that Lyin’ Brian Williams is, while dumber than hell, quite a bit smarter than Fake News @CNN “anchorman” Don Lemon, the “dumbest man on television”. Then you have Psycho Joe “What Ever Happened To Your Girlfriend?” Scarborough, another of the low I.Q. individuals!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 30, 2020
Twitter users were baffled that this is what the President of the United States would be posting about while 61,000 Americans are dead from COVID-19 — a higher death toll than the Vietnam War. There are over 1 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States as of April 30. “The hardest working president of all time is up past midnight sh*tposting about Joe Scarborough’s intern and whether or not Don Lemon or Brian Williams is dumber during a pandemic that’s killed over 60,000 Americans in a matter of weeks,” journalist Justin Baragona tweeted.
“If you ever wondered what keeps Donald Trump up at night, it’s not the 61,000 who died from coronavirus. It’s Brian Williams’ story about Trump slipping in the polls,” one voter tweeted. Another acknowledged that while Williams screwed up in 2015, it’s nothing compared to the behavior from the Commander in Chief: “Brian Williams is a good man by all accounts who made a dreadful mistake in judgement and has to live with that. Having said this, he could lie everyday for the rest of his life and still be tens of thousands of lies behind @realDonaldTrump.”