Trump goes on tear, sharing tweets about Putin, North Korea’s Kim and far-right YouTube star

President Trump went on a tear on Twitter on Saturday morning, renewing his attacks on the press and voicing his confidence in U.S. relations with Russia and North Korea.

The president issued a series of his own tweets in which he touted his plans for a possible infrastructure proposal, rebuked the mainstream media, and voiced confidence in his relationships with Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump also retweeted a series of posts that condemned Facebook’s decision this week to remove “dangerous” figures from its platform.{mosads}

The tweetstorm came amid a tumultuous week in Washington as the White House continued its feud with Democratic lawmakers over a slew of congressional oversight investigations and amid new revelations regarding special counsel Robert Mueller’s report. 

Trump raised eyebrows Friday when the White House announced he spoke with Putin, though he said he did not press the Russian president on Moscow’s efforts to interfere in U.S. elections.

The two leaders reportedly spoke about Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s election interference, but Trump told reporters that Putin said the investigation “started off being a mountain and ended up being a mouse.”

“Very good call yesterday with President Putin of Russia. Tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media. Look how they have misled you on ‘Russia Collusion.’ The World can be a better and safer place. Nice!” Trump tweeted early Saturday.

Trump also continued to lash out at news coverage of special counsel Robert Mueller‘s investigation, accusing the press of having “misled” the American people on the special counsel’s findings. Trump and his allies have claimed Mueller’s findings as a victory after the special counsel did not find evidence of conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin in Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.

Very good call yesterday with President Putin of Russia. Tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media. Look how they have misled you on “Russia Collusion.” The World can be a better and safer place. Nice!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 4, 2019

The president also tweeted his confidence in North Korea’s Kim, hours after South Korea’s military said the North fired multiple short-range projectiles toward Japan. It was Pyongyang’s latest launch following Trump and Kim’s February summit in Vietnam, which failed to produce a nuclear deal.

“Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it. He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!” Trump tweeted.

Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it. He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 4, 2019

Trump has often touted a rosy relationship with Kim on Twitter, expressing optimism that the two can negotiate denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula. However, their two summits — in Singapore in 2018 and in Vietnam earlier this year — have yet to produce any concrete deal beyond a vow that Washington and Pyongyang would work toward denuclearization.

The president also turned his focus to social media companies after Facebook moved this week to ban several “dangerous” personalities, including conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

“When did we quit teaching/understanding that free speech means protecting the distasteful, lest we open the door for govt/3d parties to decide that whatever they oppose is ‘distasteful’ and therefore to be banned? #SlipperySlope,” journalist Sharyl Attkisson wrote in a message retweeted by Trump.

When did we quit teaching/understanding that free speech means protecting the distasteful, lest we open the door for govt/3d parties to decide that whatever they oppose is “distasteful” and therefore to be banned? #SlipperySlope

— Sharyl Attkisson️‍♂️ (@SharylAttkisson) May 4, 2019

“The support for me has been incredible. This could actually lead to some genuine change. Keep up the pressure. Don’t let it rest,” Paul Joseph Watson, an editor at Jones’s Infowars and popular YouTube conspiracy theorist, said in another message retweeted by Trump. Watson was one of the figures banned by Facebook.

The support for me has been incredible. This could actually lead to some genuine change. Keep up the pressure. Don’t let it rest.

— Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) May 4, 2019

The messages marked a continuation of grievances Trump aired Friday in which he said he was “monitoring” alleged censorship on online platforms.

Earlier Saturday, the president had tweeted that he was “looking hard” at an infrastructure deal he is negotiating with congressional Democrats.

“There is nothing easy about a USA Infrastructure Plan, especially when our great Country has spent an astounding 7 trillion dollars in the Middle East over the last 19 years, but I am looking hard at a bipartisan plan of 1 to 2 trillion dollars. Badly needed!” he tweeted. 

There is nothing easy about a USA Infrastructure Plan, especially when our great Country has spent an astounding 7 trillion dollars in the Middle East over the last 19 years, but I am looking hard at a bipartisan plan of 1 to 2 trillion dollars. Badly needed!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 4, 2019

His comments came days after Trump met with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). Schumer said after the sit-down that “there was goodwill” on both sides toward crafting a major piece of legislation on infrastructure.

Despite the rare bipartisan development, Trump still faces stiff opposition from the GOP in his desire for such a sweeping infrastructure package.

The series of tweets capped off a tense week in Washington amid an escalating feud between congressional Democrats and the White House.

Lawmakers this week grilled Attorney General William Barr on his handling of Mueller’s report on Russia’s election interference, accusing Barr of misrepresenting the Mueller team’s findings for the political purpose of protecting Trump.

Democrats’ criticisms were fueled by revelations that Mueller had written to Barr in March voicing concerns over the nature of the attorney general’s four-page summary of Mueller’s report. In that letter, which became public just hours before Wednesday’s Senate hearing, Mueller said Barr’s account “did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this office’s work and conclusions.”

Trump has celebrated Barr’s account of the findings as vindicating him on allegations of obstruction and “collusion,” lambasting the news media, which he has accused of falsely reporting on the Mueller investigation and its findings.