Members of the media jumped on Donald Trump Friday afternoon for essentially hogging television airtime for what ultimately was a four-sentence announcement.
Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, created some hype when he posted this comment on Twitter at 9:23 a.m. ET:
The press conference began just after 11 a.m., and the three major cable news networks — Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC — were broadcasting it live. According to The Hill, 26 minutes went by before Trump actually spoke.
During that timeframe, members of the military present on stage gave their endorsements of Trump, who sat near the podium. Twenty-one minutes in, according to The Hill, CNN cut away from the event and showed its anchors talking while video of the Trump event still played.
Five minutes later, Trump stepped up to the microphone and delivered a short statement:
"President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period. Hillary Clinton and her campaign of 2008 started the birther controversy. I finished it. Now we all want to get back to making America great again."
Trump left the stage and did not take questions.
CNN was particularly critical of Trump's tactic.
"We got played, again, by the Trump campaign, because that's what they do. … Voters can know what to do with that," John King said, reports The Hill.
Added Jake Tapper: "We all got Rick Rolled and played."
Clinton herself was critical of Trump too, but her remark may have been in regards to the content of what he said.
Trump poked fun at the press that follows him everywhere during a rally Thursday night in Laconia, N.H.
"I have really good news for you. I just heard that the press is stuck on their airplane. They can't get here. I love it," Trump said.
"They're gonna be about 30 minutes late. They called us and said 'Could you wait.' I said 'Absolutely not.' Lets get going, right? Let's get going New Hampshire."
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