Leftist media figures questioned whether or not President Trump was threatening them after he tweeted on Monday that “at some point” the news “will be forced to discuss our great job numbers” and “strong economy.”

From Breitbart:

Trump tweeted: “At some point the Fake News will be forced to discuss our great jobs numbers, strong economy, success with ISIS, the border & so much else!”

At some point the Fake News will be forced to discuss our great jobs numbers, strong economy, success with ISIS, the border & so much else! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 3, 2017

NBC’s Katy Tur oh-so-seriously and ominously asked on-air what Trump meant by “forced.” Talking Points Memo asked, “Trump declares the press will be “forced” to cover his achievements. What First Amendment?”

Trump declares the press will be "forced" to cover his achievements. What First Amendment? https://t.co/3cXvcV63ju pic.twitter.com/J1mOUF4TSs — Talking Points Memo (@TPM) July 3, 2017

A contributor to the New York Times and New Republic wrote, “Interesting choice by Trump to use the word ‘forced’ the day after sharing his fantasy of assaulting a news network.” An NBC News editor emphasized Trump’s use of the words “will be ‘forced’ to.”

Interesting choice by Trump to use the word "forced" the day after sharing his fantasy of assaulting a news network. https://t.co/ql65wgAwT9 — Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) July 3, 2017

Later in the day, though he did not specifically mention or refer to the tweet, NBC’s Chuck Todd spoke generally about Trump’s “dehumanizing” tweets.

“If these actions and this language was being used by a leader in a different country, our State Department… not just we in general… would be saying ‘Hmm, that country is inching towards authoritarianism,'” Todd said. “Because that’s usually the first sign: when you try to delegitimize a free press.”