On Sunday, Trump, who was sitting at a golf course he owns in New Jersey, tweeted a childish clip of him wrestling down a person representing CNN.

At a time when a GOP politician has actually body-slammed a journalist, it wasn’t funny. Brian Stelter, CNN’s media reporter, tweeted a CNN statement saying it was “a sad day when the President of the United States encourages violence against reporters.”

Watch more!

But for Trump, the relentless drumbeat of anger against the press is a clear political tactic, designed to stoke his base and build up a narrative of victimization. The president has complained virtually nonstop since taking office about the supposedly unfair coverage surrounding the White House, casting journalists as the opposition. He has also repeatedly broken assumed conventions of decency in American politics, fanned the flames of right-wing extremism among his support, and shamelessly spouted numerous falsehoods on both trivial and consequential matters. His behavior has compelled the press coverage he now decries.

Of course, there’s a legitimate conversation to be had about whether the media is “biased” against Trump, a president who radically reshaped the political climate in Washington. This week, for instance, CNN was forced to retract a botched investigative story on the Trump camp’s Russian connections. The network even let go three senior journalists associated with the piece.

Trump and his supporters crowed about the mistake, but pointedly ignored CNN’s willingness to hold itself accountable for its mistakes — a willingness Trump never has displayed over his own misstatements and incendiary remarks. The president instead keeps using his social media megaphone and his proxies in the right-wing media bubble to denounce the entire media establishment as enemies of the American people.

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) warned Trump against “trying to weaponize distrust” of the media. But no matter the (softly spoken) censure from fellow Republican politicians, Trump can’t seem to do any wrong in the eyes of his core supporters.

“They like him, they believe in him, they have not to any large degree been shaken from him, and the more the media attacks him, the more it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy on the side of the Trump supporters who fervently believe the media treat him unfairly,” said Tony Fabrizio, the chief pollster for Trump’s campaign, to my colleagues. “It’s like, ‘Beat me with that sword some more!’”

Trump is hardly the first politician to “weaponize distrust” of the media. In the wake of Trump’s Sunday tweet, Richard Haass, the president of the indisputably bipartisan Council on Foreign Relations, likened Trump’s rhetoric to that of a more practiced strongman president.

The stakes in Turkey are, of course, profoundly greater. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan withstood a violent coup attempt a year ago, which prompted his government to embark on a vast purge of state institutions and civil society. More than 100 journalists have been thrown into prison or forced into exile. Dozens of media outlets have been closed or taken over by state authorities. Newspapers that were once titans of the establishment have seen their editors criminalized and offices raided.

But there are some important similarities to bear in mind. Both Erdogan and Trump channel a kind of majoritarian nationalism anchored in grievance at cosmopolitan elites. And both paint their critics as threats to the nation. Over the weekend, Erdogan labeled a peaceful opposition protest march from Ankara to Istanbul as the work of “terrorist” sympathizers.

The echoes of Erdogan in Trump’s political style offer an uncomfortable new reality for Americans, suggested Financial Times columnist Gideon Rachman.

“It is that, given enough time, any democratic system is vulnerable to assaults from a determined, dictatorial leader,” wrote Rachman earlier this year. “Mr. Erdogan became prime minister in 2003 and, over time, utterly changed his country. As one Turkish intellectual put it to me ... ‘Things that I would once have thought impossible are now happening on a daily basis.’”

“Trump is not yet going nearly as far as Erdogan, who jails journalists, but the preliminary logic is the same — an attempt to undermine the credibility of those who hold power to account,” wrote Brian Klaas, a fellow at the London School of Economics and author of a recent book on the erosion of democracies, in January.

The German newsweekly Der Spiegel put it most starkly in a February editorial: “Erdogan and Trump are positioning themselves as the only ones capable of truly understanding the people and speaking for them. It’s their view that freedom of the press does not protect democracy and that the press isn’t reverent enough to them and is therefore useless. They believe that the words that come from their mouths as powerful leaders are the truth and that the media, when it strays from them, is telling lies. That’s autocratic thinking — and it is how you sustain a dictatorship.”

Tellingly, the two leaders have defended the other from their critics. In the wake of Erdogan’s purge, Trump said the United States didn’t have much right to criticize the Turkish president’s crackdown; in the wake of Trump’s inauguration, Erdogan described protests against the new president as “disrespectful” and applauded Trump’s singling out CNN as “fake news” during a testy exchange at a news conference.

That day, Erdogan congratulated Trump for putting the CNN reporter “in his place.” It’s the same sentiment many Trump supporters probably feel with every new hashtag and barbed insult hurled at journalists.

U.S. President Donald Trump, center, signs an executive order at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in Washington, D.C. U.S., on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017. Trump acted on two of the most fundamental -- and controversial -- elements of his presidential campaign, building a wall on the border with Mexico and greatly tightening restrictions on who can enter the U.S. Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Pool via Bloomberg (Chip Somodevilla/Bloomberg) Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife Akie Abe attend dinner with U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife Melania at Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida U.S., February 10, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY (Carlos Barria/Reuters) U.S. President Donald Trump hugs a supporter he invited onstage to speak during a "Make America Great Again" rally at Orlando Melbourne International Airport in Melbourne, Florida, U.S. February 18, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 28: President Trump's first address before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017, at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. (Jabin Botdford /The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 17: President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel participate in a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on Friday, March. 17, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) US First Lady Melania Trump (R) and President Donald Trump (2nd R) pose with Chinese President Xi Jinping (2nd L) and his wife Peng Liyuan (L) upon their arrival to the Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm Beach, Florida, on April 6, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / JIM WATSONJIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 17: President Donald Trump, with first lady Melania Trump, their son Barron Trump, and members of the first family, blows a whistle to begin an Easter Egg Roll race during the 139th Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on Monday, April 17, 2017. The White House said 21,000 people are expected to attend the annual tradition of rolling colored eggs down the White House lawn that was started by President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1878. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 17: A young girl hugs President Donald Trump after makes cards for members of the military at a craft table during the 139th Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on Monday, April 17, 2017. The White House said 21,000 people are expected to attend the annual tradition of rolling colored eggs down the White House lawn that was started by President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1878. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) U.S. President Donald Trump displays an executive order reviewing previous National Monument designations made under the Antiquities Act, during a signing ceremony at the Interior Department in Washington, U.S., April 26, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 2: President Donald Trump speaks during a presentation ceremony of the Commander-in-Chief trophy to the Air Force Academy football team in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC on Tuesday, May 02, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 4: President Donald Trump claps as he arrives with Vice President Mike Pence after the House pushed through a health care bill, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, DC on Thursday, May 04, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 10: President Donald Trump meets with Dr. Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of State and National Security Advisory under President Richard Nixon, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on Wednesday, May 10, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 15: President Donald Trump welcomes Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, DC on Monday, May 15, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 15: The White House is lit in blue to honor police officers killed in the line of duty in Washington, DC on Monday, May 15, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 16: President Donald Trump meets with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on Tuesday, May 16, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 17: President Donald Trump's shadow is seen on the driveway as he waves and walks to board Marine One for a short trip to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., then to speak at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Commencement Ceremony, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on Wednesday, May 17, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) President Donald Trump holds a sword and sways with traditional dancers during a welcome ceremony at Murabba Palace, Saturday, May 20, 2017, in Riyadh. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) ARLINGTON, VA - May 29: Christian Jacobs, 6, center, hugs President Donald Trump as people visit in observance of Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday May 29, 2017 in Arlington, VA. Christian's father, U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Christopher James Jacobs died during a training exercise in 2011. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 1: President Donald Trump walks out to speak about the US role in the Paris climate change accord in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, DC on Thursday, June 01, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 2: President Donald Trump signs two bills, the American Law enforcement Heroes Act of 2017 and Public Safety Officers Benefits improvement Act of 2017 in the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House in Washington, DC on Friday, June 02, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 6: President Donald Trump greets Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., left, as House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis., right, takes his seat during a meeting with House and Senate Leadership in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC on Tuesday, June 06, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) U.S. President Donald Trump greets a family whose insurance premiums rose under the Affordable Care Act, after arriving in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S., June 7, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters) WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 7: Visitors react to meeting President Donald Trump after he disembarked Marine One and returns from Cincinnati on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on Wednesday, June 07, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 9: President Donald Trump speaks with Romanian President Klaus Werner Iohannis during their joint news conference in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, DC on Friday, June 09, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 12: President Donald Trump, flanked by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, listens during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC on Monday, June 12, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 12: President Donald Trump speaks during a ceremony on the South Lawn to honor the 2016 NCAA Football National Champions Clemson University Tigers at the White House in Washington, DC on Monday, June 12, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) President Donald Trump pumps his fist after signing an executive order on Cuba policy, Friday, June 16, 2017, in Miami. From left are, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Cary Roque, Vice President Mike Pence and Labor Secretary Alex Acosta. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 16: President Donald Trump greets a group of visitors as he returns from a trip to Miami where he spoke about Cuba policy, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on Friday, June 16, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 19: President Donald Trump speaks during an American Technology Council roundtable in the State Dinning Room at the White House in Washington, DC on Monday, June 19, 2017. From left, Accenture CEO Julie Sweet, Oracle Co-CEO Safra Catz, senior adviser Jared Kushner, Tim Cook, Chief Executive Officer of Apple, Trump, Satya Nadella, Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft, and Jeff Bezos, Chief Executive Officer of Amazon. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 19: President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, seen through a car door, walk out to greet Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on Monday, June 19, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 20: President Donald Trump shakes hands with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on Tuesday, June 20, 2017. From left, Poroshenko, Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) President Donald Trump arrives on stage to speak at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Wednesday, June 21, 2017. This is Trump's first visit to Iowa since the election. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 22: George Mathew, CEO of Kespry, shows a drone to President Donald Trump during the "American Leadership in Emerging Technology" event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on Thursday, June 22, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 22: President Donald Trump speaks with First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen during the Congressional Picnic on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on Thursday, June 22, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 23: President Donald Trump greets Michael Verardo, who lost his leg in Afghanistan serving as a Sergeant in the 82nd Airborne Division in 2010, during a bill signing event for the "Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017" in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on Friday, June 23, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 23: President Donald Trump, with Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin by his side, shows off after signing the "Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017" in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on Friday, June 23, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 24: (Exclusive Coverage) (L-R) First Lady Melania Trump, President Donald Trump, Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, Louise Linton, Vice President Mike Pence, and Second Lady Karen Pence pose at the wedding of Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin and Louise Linton on June 24, 2017 at Andrew Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LS) WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 26: President Donald Trump listens during an expanded bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC on Monday, June 26, 2017. From left, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Vice President Mike Pence, President Trump, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Defense, and Secretary Jim Mattis. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 26: President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hug while making statements in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC on Monday, June 26, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 27: President Donald Trump, center, speaks as he meets with Republican senators about health care in the East Room of the White House of the White House in Washington, DC on Tuesday, June 27, 2017. Seated with him are Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, left, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, right, (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 28: President Donald Trump meets with "immigration crime victims" to urge passage of House legislation to save American lives in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, DC on Wednesday, June 28, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 28: President Donald Trump holds a Chicago Cubs jersey as he meets with members of the 2016 World Series Champions Chicago Cubs in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on Wednesday, June 28, 2017. Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant holds a "45" sign. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 28: President Donald Trump, flanked by Southern Ute Councilman Kevin Frost, center left, and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, center right, speaks with EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, left, during an energy roundtable with tribal, state, and local leaders in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC on Wednesday, June 28, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 29: President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump receive South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jeong-suk at the South Portico of the White House in Washington, DC on Thursday, June 29, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) epa06056765 US President Donald J. Trump (C) delivers remarks as US Vice President Mike Pence (L) and Energy Secretary Rick Perry (R) listen at the Unleashing American Energy event at the Department of Energy in Washington, DC, USA, 29 June 2017. President Trump announced a number on initiatives including his Administration's plan on rolling back regulations on energy production and development. EPA/KEVIN DIETSCH / POOL (Kevin Dietsch / Pool/EPA) WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 30: Astronaut Dave Wolf, left, pretends to grab a pen as President Donald Trump hands it to former astronaut Buzz Aldrin after signing an executive order to establish a National Space Council in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC on Friday, June 30, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 30: President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in watch as Director of Oval Office Operations Keith Schiller, right, reacts to a lamp being knocked over in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on Friday, June 30, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 4: United States President Donald J. Trump, flanked by first lady Melania Trump, speaks to guests during the military families picnic on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington D.C. on July 4, 2017. (Calla Kessler/The Washington Post) epa06070673 German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) and US President Donald J. Trump (L) attend their meeting in the Hotel Atlantic one day prior to the G20 summit for bilateral talks in Hamburg, Germany, 06 Julty 2017. The G20 Summit (or G-20 or Group of Twenty) is an international forum for governments from 20 major economies. The summit is taking place in Hamburg 07 to 08 July 2017. EPA/JENS SCHLUETER / POOL (Jens Schlueter / Pool/EPA) President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 Summit, Friday, July 7, 2017, in Hamburg. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump listen to the national anthems during an official welcoming ceremony in the courtyard of the Invalides in Paris, Thursday, July 13, 2017. Trump is in Paris for a high profile two-day visit during which he will be the guest of honour of his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at the annual Bastille Day parade. (AP Photo / Matthieu Alexandre) U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, and his wife Brigitte Macron tour Napoleon Bonaparte’s Tomb at Les Invalides in Paris, France, July 13, 2017. REUTERS/Carolyn Kaster/Pool (Pool/Reuters) French President Emmanuel Macron, right, U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. First Lady Melania Trump watch the traditional Bastille Day military parade on the Champs Elysees, in Paris, Friday, July 14, 2017. (AP Photo/Michel Euler) WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 17: United States President Donald J. Trump sports a Stetson cowboy hat during the Made in America product showcase on the South Lawn of the White House on July 17, 2017 in Washington, D.C. (Calla Kessler/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 17: United States President Donald J. Trump sits in a firetruck while Vice President Mike Pence stands below during the Made in America product showcase on the South Lawn of the White House on July 17, 2017 in Washington, D.C. (Calla Kessler/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 17: United States President Donald J. Trump shows off a presidential proclamation that makes today "Made in America Day" and this week "Made in American Week" during the Made in America product showcase on the South Lawn of the White House on July 17, 2017 in Washington, D.C. (Calla Kessler/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 19: President Donald Trump speaks at a luncheon with GOP leadership about healthcare in the State Dinning Room of the White House in Washington, DC on Wednesday, July 19, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 26: President Donald Trump walks back to the Oval Office after speaking in the Rose Garden during an event with the American Legion Boys Nation and the American Legion Auxiliary Girls Nation at the White House in Washington, DC on Wednesday, July 26, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) Photo Gallery: Scenes from the Republican’s beginning months in the White House.