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In advance of his state visit to the United Kingdom, President Donald Trump sat down in the Oval Office with British tabloid The Sun. During the course of the recorded interview the President referred to the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, as "nasty"—which Trump promptly denied as "fake news."
I never called Meghan Markle “nasty.” Made up by the Fake News Media, and they got caught cold! Will @CNN, @nytimes… https://t.co/UCHkqIlDz7— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1559479464.0
Which inspired CNN's Jake Tapper to invoke the prescient words of George Orwell from his dystopian novel 1984.
Tapper took to Twitter and posted:
"The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command." ~ Orwell, 1984
“The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” — Orwell, 1984— Jake Tapper (@Jake Tapper) 1559482119.0
Despite naming no names, most people understood the reference. Except the intended target.
As others retweeted Tapper's message, President Trump actually liked the dig against the "alternative facts" of his administration. Brian Stelter, CNN's chief media correspondent noted Trump's like of the Orwell quote.
"Huh. [President Donald Trump] 'faved' a tweet for the first time in a while... and it's a George Orwell quote, critiquing Trump for denying calling Markle 'nasty' even though he said it on tape."
Huh. @realDonaldTrump "faved" a tweet for the first time in a while... and it's a George Orwell quote, critiquing T… https://t.co/xyLfiDZhz2— Brian Stelter (@Brian Stelter) 1559533628.0
@brianstelter/Twitter
@brianstelter @realDonaldTrump Its just straight Fox quoting, w a lil’ whipped Orwell slathered on top 😏— Dennis Herring (@Dennis Herring) 1559544689.0
@dcherring @brianstelter @realDonaldTrump 4 hours from now: https://t.co/tpzuYE37L0— ᑕᕼᑌᑎK (@ᑕᕼᑌᑎK) 1559547539.0
People—aside from the President who seemed to fail to understand the meaning of Orwell's novel—found Tapper's reference very appropriate.
@MollyJongFast @jaketapper https://t.co/NPAMy2HJUj— Stealthgirl (@Stealthgirl) 1559490513.0
Some channeled their own President Trump for a response.
@jaketapper Orwell never wrote that. FAKE NEWS!— John Daniel Roche (@John Daniel Roche) 1559482203.0
Some implored media to fact check Trump and refuse to publish his lies.
@jaketapper It'd be nice, too, if the media didn't report, verbatim, the lies of the Trump administration in their… https://t.co/byRywX5oFT— Paul Wu-Tang Clan ⚛︎👨🏻🏫 (@Paul Wu-Tang Clan ⚛︎👨🏻🏫) 1559496301.0
But some found value in knowing what was being said since some media outlets that favor the President would share those quotes and claims with their viewers.
@PaulWuster @jaketapper @PaulWuster The lies have to be reported that’s what journalism is all about! The public ha… https://t.co/d1dkzhz2IN— Robbin ¯\_(ツ)_/¯🎃 (@Robbin ¯\_(ツ)_/¯🎃) 1559496540.0
@PaulWuster @jaketapper @realDonaldTrump You’d have to talk to the Trump supporters that believed Robert Mueller ex… https://t.co/y0jmmGjuCD— Robbin ¯\_(ツ)_/¯🎃 (@Robbin ¯\_(ツ)_/¯🎃) 1559497026.0
After being accused of making up the quote about Markle, The Sunproduced evidence of the President saying:
"I didn’t know she was nasty."
In support of the President, a Twitter account called the Trump War Room shared the audio recording with a caption saying the words said in the attached audio clip were "fake news." People quickly made note of the "self-own," including Jake Tapper.
“No I didn’t know that she was nasty,” POTUS says about Meghan Markle in the clip after the interviewer told him th… https://t.co/11TIvKC9Vm— Jake Tapper (@Jake Tapper) 1559395711.0
Some tried to reword the President's comments, but people were not letting him off the hook so easily.
@jaketapper Hearing the entire conversation don’t you think it seems like the reporter was goading him into saying… https://t.co/js0HWG6Pwz— Eugene Gu, MD (@Eugene Gu, MD) 1559414035.0
@eugenegu @jaketapper Sorry, don’t agree. Trump could have said...”I didn’t know she said that” and move on. Instead he calls her Nasty.— Nancy Santanello (@Nancy Santanello) 1559414402.0
@nancysantanello @eugenegu @jaketapper Exactly! There are a million ways he could have phrased it. It's no coincide… https://t.co/wepiv0wSWQ— Troy Warr (@Troy Warr) 1559416327.0
President Trump began a planned three-day state visit to the United Kingdom on Monday.