On Christmas Eve, President Donald Trump retweeted an altered image of himself that appeared to show a bloody splatter covering the CNN logo on the bottom of his shoe. The photo is captioned: “Winning.”

Journalists and commentators swiftly responded on Twitter, blasting the president for once again stoking violent aggression toward the media ― something that has become one of Trump’s favorite pastimes.

Twitter

The image was originally shared Saturday afternoon by a Twitter account named “oregon4TRUMP” in response to a tweet from the president bragging about the accomplishments of his first year in office.

“The Stock Market is setting record after record and unemployment is at a 17 year low,” Trump tweeted on Saturday. “So many things accomplished by the Trump Administration, perhaps more than any other President in first year. Sadly, will never be reported correctly by the Fake News Media!”

After lashing out in a tweet against the second highest-ranking FBI official on Sunday, the president then retweeted the doctored image of himself with the blood-splattered CNN logo. He subsequently tweeted his rage against “fake news,” as he has on many occasions before.

“CNN-labeled blood on the sole of his shoe. Retweeted by the President of the United States on Christmas Eve,” CNN anchor Jake Tapper said on Twitter about the retweet.

Jason Osborne, a former adviser for the Trump campaign, responded to Tapper by claiming the blood splatter looked like a squashed bug, while accusing the journalist of stirring controversy.

Seriously @jaketapper? 1)it looks like a bug as it clearly has eyes and 2) isn’t it possible that he didn’t even notice the bottom of his shoe and instead saw a picture that he liked of himself? You don’t have to make everything about your network. — Jason Osborne (@_JasonOsborne) December 24, 2017

The president retweeted an image of blood labeled “CNN” on the sole of his shoe. I noted it. Trump Adviser now faults *me* for “making this about” CNN. God bless us, everyone. https://t.co/kWzuKDOWmh — Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) December 24, 2017

But Tapper wasn’t the only journalist who saw the bloody CNN logo, nor the implications of the retweet.

The president needs to delete this. Criticism is fine when warranted, but this goes way too far with blood on the sole. There is a line and this crosses it. https://t.co/pqZ9kVwL7z — Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) December 24, 2017

The President retweeting this on Christmas Eve, w/blood on his shoe representing CNN. White Evangelical Christians: is this the kind of leader that represents Jesus message of love and the hope of Bethlehem? https://t.co/aWwz2J7tdf — Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) December 24, 2017

It took all of 15 seconds to confirm that it says “CNN.” But you’re right: A guy who embraces pedophiles, and actual Nazis, would never knowingly retweet a call for violence against the media; THAT’S where he draws the line. https://t.co/v8MiAJN96r pic.twitter.com/OkfvBz8JBW — John Aravosis (@aravosis) December 24, 2017

Trump retweeted an image that shows him having stamped out CNN.

What a shame that a national leader has reduced himself to this. https://t.co/OJzGCRGxBe — menaka doshi (@menakadoshi) December 24, 2017

Walter Shaub, former director of the United States Office of Government Ethics, denounced the president’s post, calling Trump a “wannabe autocrat.”

The wannabe autocrat just retweeted an image depicting CNN’s blood on the sole of his shoe. These colicky tweets reveal he’s hurting this weekend. They make him (and our country) look weak. — Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) December 24, 2017

National security lawyer Bradley Moss noted that many journalists risk their lives reporting from war-torn regions of the globe. One report by the Committee to Protect Journalists estimates that at least 42 journalists from different countries around the world were killed while reporting in 2017. Another group, Reporters Without Borders, says as many as 65 journalists have been killed this year.

American journalists have died doing their job. When he’s not calling them the enemy of the people, the President has now at least twice retweeted images of violence against CNN. The fact that you’re trying to dismiss this shows how many Trump people are vile hacks. https://t.co/XjDfxpOASR — Bradley P. Moss, Esq (@BradMossEsq) December 24, 2017

Trump has promoted attacks against journalists in the past. His raucous presidential campaign rallies frequently featured calls inciting violence against reporters and others.

In July, the president tweeted a video that showed him beating up a man with a CNN logo as his head. The video appeared to be a repurposed clip of Trump, then a reality TV star, beating up WWE owner Vince McMahon in 2007 ― whose head was replaced with the outlet’s logo.

In August, the president shared ― and later deleted ― a tweet that featured a cartoon “Trump train” running over a man with a CNN logo superimposed over his face.