President Donald Trump's homeland security and counterterrorism adviser Tom Bossert Sunday morning said he does not consider the president's decision to tweet a video showing himself beating up a man with the CNN logo superimposed on his head a threat, and defended the decision to make the post.
"He's beaten up in a way on cable platforms, and he has a right to respond," Bossert told ABC "This Week" Martha Raddatz, after she asked him if he thought the tweet posed a threat.
"No one would perceive that as a threat," Bossert responded, telling Raddatz that it was the first time he'd seen the video. "I hope they don't."
Further, said Bossert, he would react to the tweet as he would any of Trump's other posts, and that "cable news shows reach directly into hundreds of thousands of viewers [and are] not always fair to the president."
The video Trump posted appeared to have been doctored from his appearance at Wrestlemania 23 in 2007, during which he threw WWE owner Vince McMahon to the ground outside the ring before shaving the wrestling magnate's head.
Trump didn't comment on the video or indicate where it had come from, but labeled it with two hashtags: #FraudNewsCNN and #FNN
The president had previewed the FNN name for CNN during a separate tweet on Saturday:
Bossert said Sunday he is proud of Trump for developing a social media platform that allows him to speak directly to the American people.
"He's the most genuine president and the most non-politician president that we've seen in my lifetime and he's demonstrated whatever the content of that particular tweet is or any tweet, he's demonstrating an ability to communicate to the people," said Bossert.
The tweet was posted just days after White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the president "in no way, form, or fashion has ever encouraged any form of violence," notes The Hill.
Bossert's defense drew criticism from CNN contributor Ana Navarro, a panelist on the ABC program's roundtable.
“I am disappointed beyond belief by the answer that the homeland security adviser just gave," Navarro commented. "What a wuss. What a wuss. You could see that he is ceding his principles. You are the homeland security adviser and you can’t stand here and say the difference between right and wrong."
Navarro also called Trump's tweet "an incitement to violence" and predicted he will "get somebody killed. Maybe that will stop him.”
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