Former CIA and National Security Agency Director Michael Hayden criticized President Donald Trump’s attack of CNN over the weekend, saying he could not believe a President was capable of “such an outrageous assault” on a free press or the First Amendment.
The retired United States Air Force four-star general, who is now is a CNN national security analyst, served under the past three administrations.
“If this is who we are or who we are becoming, I have wasted 40 years of my life,” Hayden tweeted over the weekend. “Until now it was not possible for me to conceive of an American President capable of such an outrageous assault on truth, a free press or the first amendment.”
Trump tweeted his approval of Fox News and condemnation for CNN International Saturday, saying the network poorly represents the nation and is untrustworthy to the outside world.
“Fox News is MUCH more important in the United States than CNN, but outside of the U.S., CNN International is still a major source of (Fake) news, and they represent our Nation to the WORLD very poorly,” the President said.
The network responded to Trump’s tweet: “It’s not CNN’s job to represent the U.S to the world. That’s yours. Our job is to report the news. #FactsFirst”
CNN has often received the brunt of Trump’s media criticism dating back to his presidential candidacy. He has regularly referred to CNN’s coverage as “fake news.”
