Trump deletes retweet of meme showing CNN reporter being hit by a train
"My cartoon, which was drawn in January, was altered without my permission and changed the message of my original work," the original artist said.
It's not unusual for President Trump to aggressively retweet content on Twitter. But on Tuesday morning, the president deleted two retweets, including one that featured a cartoon meme attacking CNN.
The meme, an alteration of a cartoon drawn by Indianapolis Star political cartoonist Gary Varavel, depicts a train labeled "Trump" running over a person with the CNN logo superimposed over his head. The caption reads, "Fake news can't stop the Trump train."
"After a woman was fatally run over at a white nationalist rally, the president shares a rendering of a 'TRUMP' train hitting a CNN reporter," New York magazine Washington correspondent Olivia Nuzzi wrote after the image was initially shared.
The White House told NBC News White House correspondent Kristen Welker the image was "inadvertently posted," and when "noticed it, was immediately deleted."
In the original cartoon, drawn after the 2016 presidential campaign, the character being run over by the train is a donkey representing the Democratic Party. "My cartoon, which was drawn in January, was altered without my permission and changed the message of my original work," Varavel said.
Earlier, Trump deleted a retweet of a comment made to a thread on a Fox News story reporting that the president was considering offering a pardon to former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was found guilty of criminal contempt in a court case involving patrols that targeted undocumented immigrants.
The message, which Trump quickly deleted from his Twitter feed, was from a critic saying, "he's a fascist."
Trump traded barbs with CNN reporter Jim Acosta after a Monday announcement from the White House that the administration was launching an investigation into China's trade practices.
Acosta asked the president if he were willing to answer questions about his remarks earlier in the day on the deadly violence in Charlottesville, Va.
"It doesn't bother me at all, but I like real news, not fake news," Trump said, pointing at Acosta. "You're fake news."
"Haven't you spread a lot of fake news yourself, sir?" Acosta shot back as Trump exited the room.
The back-and-forth came after Trump read prepared remarks clarifying his widely criticized initial response to violence in Charlottesville on Saturday that was fueled by white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and members of the Ku Klux Klan. Trump called those groups out by name and labeled them thugs but did not respond to questions about why it took him two days to do so.
Trump has a long history of attacking CNN. Last month, he shared a video showing himself body slamming and punching a stand-in for CNN. That video remains on his Twitter account.
CNN condemned the video, calling it "juvenile" and "far below the dignity of the office."
"It is a sad day when the president of the United states encourages violence against reporters," CNN said in a statement at the time.