President Trump used his press conference to skewer the national press corps Thursday.

He lectured the media on their ratings — suggesting they’d fare better with consumers if they pared back the “hatred” and just presented the news. Trump coached them on the types of questions they should ask, joked about classified information saying they all have copies, and lambasted their love of “fake news.” He not so politely reminded members of the media that their national approval rating is collectively lower than Congress’s.

Pres. Trump to the press: “The public doesn’t believe you people anymore. Now maybe I had something to do with that, I don’t know.” pic.twitter.com/RUDiwpNyMP — ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 16, 2017

“Your ratings aren’t as good as some of the other people waiting,’ Trump said to CNN’s Jim Acosta, whose press conference theatrics made headlines some time ago when Trump accused his network of engaging in “fake news.” Today, Trump seemed to have a slight change of heart saying he will no longer refer to “fake news” as such, but instead will refer to it as “very fake news.”

.@realDonaldTrump press conf introduction is peak Trump, using national media coverage to attack media, Dems, leakers, etc. — Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) February 16, 2017

Aside from the fact that the whole presser was TV gold, it was perfectly illustrative of why Trump won — he speaks beyond the political beltway while the political press and most federal officials are incapable of seeing beyond their laptop screens to the interests of the people they’re supposed to represent.

Pres. Trump: “The press has become so dishonest that if we don’t talk about it we are doing a tremendous disservice to the American people.” pic.twitter.com/xmmw16VsZA — ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 16, 2017

Media heads are exploding. They’re accustomed to marginalizing complaints of bias as a fringe, fly-over country platitude; a task significantly more difficult when the same complaints are coming from the White House. Their own vanity will prevent them from seeing they are one of many problems with the current political structure and instead will blame Trump for being “unhinged” or something of the like.

The media slasherfest aside, the presser was chock-full of substance. Almost too much substance — leaks, appointments, bias, Russia, campaign, immigration, resignations — a firehose of information embedded in a string of zingers. By design or unintentional? Who knows. But it’ll make covering the bizarre affair incredibly difficult. There’s no single tag line, no distinct takeaway other than Trump is definitely not one to conduct business as usual.

Immigration Executive Order:

Trump plans to release a new immigration Executive Order next week, one he’s confident will pass court scrutiny:

BREAKING: Justice Department says Trump intends ‘in near future’ to rescind travel order and replace with revised order – filing — Reuters Top News (@Reuters) February 16, 2017

On leaks:

Pres. Trump: “I don’t want classified information getting out to the public”; says he’s called Justice Dept. to look into information leaks. pic.twitter.com/RiJAltJr9k — ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 16, 2017

Russia:

President Trump: “I own nothing in Russia. I have no loans in Russia. I don’t have any deals in Russia.” https://t.co/HH7serMqRv pic.twitter.com/HyEiveTDqQ — This Week (@ThisWeekABC) February 16, 2017

Flynn’s resignation:

Pres. Trump on Flynn’s talks with Russia: “I don’t think he did anything wrong, if anything he did something right.” https://t.co/WHm1CVx49I pic.twitter.com/9487AQfNWJ — ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 16, 2017

Keystone pipeline:

Pres. Trump: We’ve “taken steps to begin construction of the Keystone pipeline and Dakota Access pipelines, thousands and thousands of jobs” pic.twitter.com/xTg6YwakxU — ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 16, 2017

Drugs:

Pres. Trump: “We’re becoming a drug-infested nation. Drugs are becoming cheaper than candy bars. We’re not going to let it happen.” pic.twitter.com/9EnP5AeiMy — ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 16, 2017

On rumors his administration is in chaos:

Pres. Trump: “This administration is running like a fine-tuned machine, despite the fact that I can’t get my cabinet approved.” pic.twitter.com/0j9nduTjwf — ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 16, 2017

Full presser is here:

Follow Kemberlee on Twitter @kemberleekaye



