Donald Trump and the Media
By: Bill O'ReillyJune 1, 2016
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Yesterday, Mr. Trump slammed the national media for questioning his donations to American veterans.

The issue stemmed from a benefit Mr. Trump held last January where he said he raised $6 million to help vets in need.

A report by the Washington Post questioned whether the money had been distributed in a timely manner.

So in a press conference, Mr. Trump laid out what his organization did, citing names of organizations and amounts of money donated.

Then Mr. Trump lashed the press - something he does frequently:

TRUMP (MAY 31): “You know my opinion of the media, it’s very low.” 

((EDIT))

TRUMP (APRIL 20): “Do we like the media?”

CROWD: “NO!”

TRUMP: “Do we hate the media?”

CROWD: “Yeah!!” 

((EDIT))

TRUMP (FEB. 26): “I think the media is among the most dishonest groups of people I’ve ever met.”

((EDIT))

TRUMP (DEC. 7): “Some of the media is terrific, but most of it—70%, 75%, is absolute dishonest, absolute scum.  Remember that.  Scum.  Scum!”

Today, the Associated Press reports that some of Mr. Trump's donations were just recently distributed, including his own one million dollar check.

That's legitimate.  I did the same thing after the 9/11 telethon, which was held to benefit families devastated by the al Qaeda attack.

You may remember George Clooney and a bunch of other stars raised millions but the money was not distributed in a timely way and I got involved.

But nowhere did I insinuate that George Clooney and the other celebrities did anything wrong.

I just wanted them to push the United Way and other charities for full disclosure.

Very similar to the Trump situation.  It isn't the reporting on the donations that's wrong, it's the insinuation that Trump is a fraud.

The national press should push Trump and others to fulfill their obligations quickly and efficiently, but that's it.  You don't cast aspersions and that's what Trump was objecting to.

To be clear, Mr. Trump should have defined the issue sooner and also he should release his tax returns, as Talking Points has stated.

However, Mr. Trump is correct when he slams the national press for constantly trying to vilify him, playing the “gotcha” game.

I personally can feel Trump's pain because the national press does the same thing to me.

The Factor is attacked over and over, as am I, on a variety of bogus charges.  It's been going on for 20 years.  It's wrong and corrupt.

And the only reason the national press despises this program is ideology.

We are the most successful cable news program of all time.  We invented the prime time opinion genre and we are fair and responsible here.

Yet the press looks for any reason to denigrate us.

So I understand what Trump is going through, but I also know that he sometimes gets a bit testy when legitimate reports surface that he doesn't like.

Donald Trump wants to be president so he will be scrutinized.  That's the way it should be in a free society.

However, skepticism should not be accusation and often it is.

And that's the memo.