President retweeted more than 20 tweets about the exchange between host Ed Henry and radio host Mark Levin

This article is more than 11 months old

This article is more than 11 months old

Donald Trump may be the great white hope of the Republican party, but his dislike of sharks is well known.

Trump impeachment inquiry sparks 'bedlam' at Fox News Read more

It seemed odd, then, that in a Sunday feeding frenzy of retweets attacking a Fox News pundit, the president gave voice to a bot that seeks to satirise his rampant galeophobia.

Trump appeared to have been watching TV at the White House, before leaving for a second straight day at his golf club in Sterling, Virginia.

On Fox & Friends, host Ed Henry had asked the radio presenter Mark Levin if he thought the president did anything “illegal” in the 25 July phone call with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, which is at the heart of impeachment proceedings.

True to form, Levin reacted angrily. This seemed to please the president, who retweeted more than 20 tweets about the exchange.

One referred to another Fox News anchor whose coverage of the Ukraine scandal has stoked turmoil at the network: “Can we face off Levin and worlds [sic] worst anchor Chris Wallace?”

Others included: “Mark Levin ripped Ed Henry a new one” and “Mark Levin sure put that lying shit head Ed Henry in his place didn’t he?”

In less vulgar fashion, the president also relayed a message from @TBASharks.

The account is a bot, full title Trump But About Sharks, which explains its mission thus: “Trump apparently hates sharks, so this bot does some word replacement on his tweets to make them about sharks.”

The message retweeted by the president therefore read: “RT @BulldawgDerek @foxandfriends A Sunday Morning; Amen Mark Levin, Preach Brother! You shut down Ed Henry and the Pro Shark Media with the fac[ts]”.

The original tweet, which Trump also retweeted, referred to “the fake news”, a common target for Trump if not usually including hosts of Fox & Friends.

The tweet in question. Photograph: Twitter

Trump’s fear and dislike of sharks is well established. In 2013, two years before he emerged Jaws-like from the depths to savage the body politic, he tweeted: “Sharks are last on my list – other than perhaps the losers and haters of the world!”

In 2018, the adult film-maker and actor Stormy Daniels revealed that during the brief affair she claims to have had with Trump in 2006 – which he denies – he enthused about a TV special about a shipwreck.

“It was like the worst shark attack in history,” said Daniels. “He is obsessed with sharks. Terrified of sharks. He was like, ‘I donate to all these charities and I would never donate to any charity that helps sharks. I hope all the sharks die.’ He was like riveted. He was like obsessed.

“It’s so strange, I know.”