Rep. Gallego Slams Trump for Calling on Post to Fire Journalist

Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., slammed President Donald Trump for calling on the Washington Post to fire a journalist who posted a misleading photo on Twitter.

"Your Chief of Staff lied about @RepWilson when are you going to fire him?" Gallego tweeted Saturday, referring to John Kelly’s claims that Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., boasted that she secured $20 million in federal funding for an FBI office in Miami.

Your Chief of Staff lied about @RepWilson when are you going to fire him? https://t.co/S309aquJPc

— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) December 9, 2017

Trump targeted Post reporter Dave Weigel over a tweet he put up Saturday that showed empty seats at rally Friday night. The photo, though, was taken before the event. The president called on Weigel to apologize, which he did, then called on Weigel to be fired.

.@DaveWeigel @WashingtonPost put out a phony photo of an empty arena hours before I arrived @ the venue, w/ thousands of people outside, on their way in. Real photos now shown as I spoke. Packed house, many people unable to get in. Demand apology & retraction from FAKE NEWS WaPo! pic.twitter.com/XAblFGh1ob

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 9, 2017

Many journalists defended Weigel, as well as Dan Pfeiffer, a former senior adviser to Barack Obama.

Trump is attacking @daveweigel because he is sad and vain but also because he doesn’t want his supporters to believe what they read in the @washingtonpost about Mueller

— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) December 10, 2017

The president calling for a journalist to be fired seems like a public threat to the First Amendment. https://t.co/Vx4csNtIP4

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 9, 2017

He apologized for his tweet and explained he made an error and got it wrong. Weigel is an honest journalist — anyone that knows him knows he wouldn’t intentionally tweet misinformation. https://t.co/FBzcuMnZEo

— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) December 9, 2017