President Trump on Thursday ripped CNN over its report that he may have violated Defense Department rules by signing “Make America Great Again” hats for soldiers in Iraq.
Trump, who has frequently attacked CNN during his presidency, wrote on Twitter that CNN and “others within the Fake News Universe were going wild” after he signed the hats.
{mosads}”CNN & others within the Fake News Universe were going wild about my signing MAGA hats for our military in Iraq and Germany,” he tweeted. “If these brave young people ask me to sign their hat, I will sign. Can you imagine my saying NO? We brought or gave NO hats as the Fake News first reported!”
CNN’s Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr suggested Wednesday that Trump’s signing of the hats may have violated Defense Department (DOD) policy that prevents active duty members from participating in partisan political activities.
“Active duty personnel may not engage in partisan political activities and all military personnel should avoid the inference that their political activities imply or appear to imply DoD sponsorship, approval, or endorsement of a political candidate, campaign, or cause,” the policy reads.
“Make America Great Again” was Trump’s campaign slogan when he ran for president in 2016.
Conservatives, however, have chided CNN for what they have described as unnecessarily critical coverage of Trump and have accused the network of attempting to diminish his Christmas visit to the troops.
Others have also pointed out that Trump wasn’t the first president to sign items for troops.
Former President Obama, for example, signed memorabilia for troops in Kuwait in 2008, according to sfgate.com.
The White House earlier Thursday also slammed CNN over the report, saying that the network is willing to “attack anyone who supports President Trump.”
“CNN is willing to attack anyone who supports President Trump, including the brave men and women of our military who fight everyday to protect our freedom,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a tweet.