MEDIA/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump lashed out Thursday [8-30-18] morning at top media executives from NBC and CNN, continuing his tirade against media coverage that he considers unfair from outlets he has labeled ‘fake news’…The relationship between Trump and Zucker dates back to the former’s time as host of ‘The Apprentice,’ the hit reality TV show on NBC, which Zucker once ran. Their relationship has turned frosty since Trump’s emergence on the political stage, with the president regularly bashing CNN, the network for which he seems to hold special disdain. Trump went on Thursday morning to attack NBC News, suggesting without evidence that an interview he sat for with ‘NBC Nightly News’ anchor Lester Holt had been doctored, an alleged infraction for which NBC News chairman Andrew Lack will be fired, Trump predicted…Trump’s interview with Holt, in which he admitted he fired former FBI Director James Comey over the bureau’s investigation into allegations of collusion between the Russian government and the 2016 Trump campaign, has been a sore spot for Trump. That Russia investigation, now led by special counsel Robert Mueller, is believed to be probing obstruction of justice allegations against the president focused in part on his decision to fire Comey.”
–Stephanie Murray, “Trump bashes CNN, NBC media executives,” Politico, August 30, 2018 8:11 am