CNN, who spends a lot of time covering Matt Gaetz when they aren’t covering the Chauvin trial, tweeted big news last night that Gaetz had been denied a meeting with Trump:
First scoop for @CNN: Trump aides recently intervened to stop a Gaetz-Trump meeting at Mar-a-Lago, signaling the embattled congressman is more isolated from Trump World than ever https://t.co/EIUan3Fnyg
— Gabby Orr (@GabbyOrr_) April 12, 2021
“…signaling the embattled congressman is more isolated from Trump World than ever.” That’s the punchline. They want to make Gaetz seems as guilty as ever, so much so that he’s even rejected by Donald Trump.
But Gaetz quickly refuted that the reporting, calling it a total lie and demanded a retraction:
This is a total lie.
I am on a pre-planned vacation with my fiancée. I was welcomed at Trump Doral days ago.
No such meeting was denied nor sought.
Gabby, “unnamed sources” lied.
When can we expect a retraction? https://t.co/6oaW7JlXUt
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) April 12, 2021
Gaetz wasn’t the only one to deny it. Trump officials did as well and also want a retraction:
This @CNN story is complete fake news.
No such scheduling or meeting request was ever made, and therefore, it could never have been declined.
Take note that this story has zero on-the-record sources. It’s literally made-up.
We are demanding a full retraction. #FakeNews https://t.co/lhlChvilhF
— Jason Miller (@JasonMillerinDC) April 12, 2021
This story is complete BS.
Trump and Gaetz teams both deny the claim, but CNN *STILL* hasn’t updated the story with Trump team’s denial.
Gross malpractice. There must be a full retraction. @GabbyOrr_ @CNNPR @DanaBashCNN https://t.co/bxJnbg4HTd
— HARLAN Z. HILL 🇺🇸 (@Harlan) April 12, 2021
But as you can imagine, the story is still up without any retractions, though it has been updated with Jason Miller’s comment. Fake News CNN strikes again!