Rachael Revesz, London, 24 April 2017<\/p>\n
President said high viewer numbers ‘are tremendous advantage’<\/p>\n
Donald Trump boasted that his \u201cratings\u201d were higher than broadcasts of the 9\/11 terrorist attacks in an interview about his first 100 days in the White House.<\/p>\n
In an interview with the Associated Press, the President railed against the \u201cfake media\u201d, former rival Hillary Clinton and the election during which he lost the popular vote.<\/p>\n
When asked if he thought he had changed how people vote, Mr Trump pointed to his \u201cvery high ratings\u201d, claiming they increased by two or three times when he appeared on the Sunday morning shows.<\/p>\n
He highlighted Chris Wallace\u2019s Fox News show.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt had 9.2 million people. It\u2019s the highest they\u2019ve ever had. On any, on air, [CBS\u2019 John] Dickerson had 5.2 million people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the highest for \u2018Face the Nation\u2019 or as I call it, \u2018Deface the Nation\u2019. It\u2019s the highest for \u2018Deface the Nation\u2019 since the World Trade Center. Since the World Trade Center came down. It\u2019s a tremendous advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Several hours after the attacks on 11 September 2001, during which almost 3,000 people died, Mr Trump was interviewed on radio and claimed that since the Towers came down, he now owned the tallest building in Manhattan. He was also condemned for claiming around $150,000 of government funds for small businesses to get back on their feet after the attacks.<\/p>\n
The President also falsely claimed that he saw Muslims clapping and cheering as they watched the Towers fall, which could have contributed to an anti-Muslim rhetoric that led to a 65 per cent spike in hate crimes against Muslims in 2015, as found by the FBI.<\/p>\n
In the AP interview, the President also claimed that Democratic representative Elijah Cummings told him he would be the \u201cgreatest President in history\u201d. Mr Cummings has repeatedly called for an investigation into the President and his campaign team\u2019s dealings with Russia, and has criticised Mr Trump\u2019s health care proposals.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s going to come a time when Trump isn\u2019t going to be in office,\u201d he said last week. \u201cThe question is what’s going to be left after the storm.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Trump claimed that Fox News was the \u201cmost accurate\u201d network, and he had stopped watching CNN and MSNBC to avoid ‘negativity’ before work.<\/p>\n
He also insisted the press treated him \u201cso badly\u201d when he claimed last week there might have been a terrorist attack in France before the police had released details.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said it may be a terrorist attack and MSNBC, I heard, went crazy, \u201cHe called it a terrorist attack.\u201d They thought it was a bank robbery,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy the way, I’m 10-0 for that. I’ve called every one of them [attacks]. Every time they said I called it way too early and then it turns out I’m … Whatever. Whatever. In the meantime, I’m here and they’re not.\u201d<\/p>\n
The President has had a contentious relationship with the press since he announced his candidacy for President in June 2015, and has attacked most mainstream publications from The Washington Post to The New York Times for publishing “inaccurate” stories about him.<\/p>\n