President Trump shared a video of a local TV reporter being confronted by anti-shutdown protesters in the New York City borough of Long Island who called him “fake news” and “the enemy of the people,” prompting journalists to come to the reporter’s defense on Friday night.
“FAKE NEWS IS NOT ESSENTIAL,” the president wrote, retweeting the videos from News 12 Long Island reporter Kevin Vesey.
The viral videos, which have been viewed more than 9.8 million times, were recorded by Vesey on Thursday while he was covering a protest against stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus pandemic.
Vesey said demonstrators in the town of Commack were confronting him over his profession and were “repeatedly invading my personal space.” Many of the protesters were not wearing face masks or practicing social distancing.
Several protesters sported Trump campaign flags and apparel, while some visibly angry demonstrators used anti-media rhetoric frequently employed by the president.
According to a video taken at the event, several protesters referred to Vesey as “fake news” and one person shouted, “You are the enemy of the people!”
“You’re disgusting. You are the virus!” another said.
“Traitor!” someone else could be heard saying.
In his final report, Vesey vowed to continue to report in an “unbiased way” despite the treatment.
“The level of anger directed at the media from these protesters was alarming. As always, I will tell a fair and unbiased story today,” he said.
Source: The Hill
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