Trump showboats attacks on 'dishonest' US media

The former reality TV star, prolific on Twitter with two million more followers than Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, has dominated coverage of the 2016 presidential cycle like no other by calling personally into television shows and frequently holding court at press conferences broadcast live nationwide.

The New York tycoon, who was dismissed as a joke when he launched his campaign, annihilated 16 rivals in the race to sew up the Republican nomination and is trailing Clinton by just a few percentage points in recent polls.

But on Tuesday, he laid into the press at Trump Tower in New York for questioning his claim to have raised $6 million for veteran charities on one night in Iowa last January after skipping a Fox News Republican debate.

The presumptive Republican nominee announced that he had given $5.6 million, reading out the names of more than 40 charities who received funds, including $1 million he donated personally to the Marine Corps - Law Enforcement Foundation.

Trump attacked the media for appearing intent on finding fault rather than gushing over his apparent generosity, and said he expected additional donations to tip the figure over $6 million.

"The press should be ashamed," he hectored. "I have never received such bad publicity for doing such a good job."

He addressed a male CNN political journalist as a "real beauty" and pointed to Tom Llamas, who covers the Republican race for ABC News, saying: "You're a sleaze because you know the facts and you know the facts well."

"Should be an interesting week," Llamas tweeted in response.

The presumptive Republican nominee also called Bill Kristol, editor of neoconservative magazine "The Weekly Standard" and fierce critic "a loser."

- A problem in November? -

When asked if this is what it would be like covering a Trump White House, the candidate fired back: "Yeah, it is," having batted aside any suggestion that he needed a thicker skin to become commander-in-chief.

"I'm going to continue to attack the press," said the 69-year-old father of five. "I find the political press to be unbelievably dishonest."

Al Baldasaro, a retired Marine and Republican in New Hampshire's state house of representatives, leapt to Trump's defense dressed in a Trump campaign hat.

"I think the liberal media -- and I have been dealing with you a long time -- need to get your head out of your butt, focus on the real issues," he said.

But outside Trump Tower, former military personnel from the group "VetsVsHate," which campaigns against anti-Muslim bigotry, said the Republican candidate must never become president.

"I am opposed to everything Donald Trump stands for," said Jake Maier, a Marine Corp veteran from New Jersey who said he would be voting for Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders in his state primary next week.

"We will not let Donald Trump use veterans as props for his agenda for hate and fear," Maier told AFP.

Trump has routinely attacked reporters on Twitter he considers biased, most notably Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, until they reconciled with a face-to-face interview, broadcast earlier this month.

In March, The New York Times reported that Trump had earned close to $2 billion worth of media attention in the form of news and commentary about his campaign, nearly three times that of Clinton.

Jeanne Zaino, professor of political science at Iona College in New York, said Trump's attacks on the media had served him well in the Republican primary but warned they could backfire in a general election.

"Trump has really gotten a lot of traction out of calling out the media. His supporters really do not like the media," she said.

But stepping up his attacks may also see independents or moderates increasingly question his temperament to be president.

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