- CNN host Anderson Cooper on Monday accused Donald Trump Jr. of “tweeting lies” about his coverage of Hurricane Florence, sparking an online feud with the president’s son.
- Trump Jr. on Sunday tweeted an image of Cooper in waist-deep water with a caption that implied the CNN host misrepresented the impact of the storm to make President Donald Trump look bad.
- Cooper responded to Trump Jr.’s tweet on Monday night and noted the image in the tweet was actually from coverage of Hurricane Ike in 2008.
CNN host Anderson Cooper on Monday accused Donald Trump Jr. of “tweeting lies” about his coverage of Hurricane Florence, sparking an online feud with the president’s son.
Trump Jr. on Sunday tweeted an image of Cooper standing in waist-deep water.
“It’s a shame that CNN’s ratings are down 41%. What’s worse is there’s a simple solution that they refuse to accept. Stop Lying to try to make @realDonaldTrump look bad,” he wrote.
It’s a shame that CNN’s ratings are down 41%. What’s worse is there’s a simple solution that they refuse to accept. Stop Lying to try to make @realDonaldTrump look bad. https://t.co/O3XyWchsJh pic.twitter.com/BCUCxKnOvO
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 16, 2018
Cooper addressed Trump Jr.'s tweet on Monday's "AC360."
"I debated whether I should even respond tonight to the president's son," Cooper said. "I know he considers himself an outdoorsman and pays a lot of money to be led to wildlife in Africa that he then kills. But I'm not sure if he's actually been to a hurricane or a flood. I didn't see him down in North Carolina over the last few days helping out, lending a hand, but I'm sure he was doing something important besides just tweeting lies."
Cooper went on to explain that the image of him in waist-deep water was from coverage of Hurricane Ike in Texas in 2008 - not Hurricane Florence. Various memes shared on social media suggested the image was from coverage of the storm in recent days.
"The idea I am kneeling in water to make it look deep is idiotic." @AndersonCooper debunks the lies being spread by Donald Trump Jr., and others who falsely claimed he and his team exaggerated the severity of Hurricane Florence. #KeepingThemHonest https://t.co/j2HptrYpe0 pic.twitter.com/zwfvIXCsIY
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) September 18, 2018
Trump Jr. took to Twitter to defend himself on Tuesday, claiming he never said the image of Cooper was from Florence.
"Not surprised @AC360 lied about me on @CNN last night. Par for the course," Trump Jr. tweeted. "I never said the pic of him was from Florence. When I tweeted out the picture of @AC360 it was with a link to an article about CNN's dwindling ratings. Nothing to do with Florence."
Trump Jr. accused CNN of "Crying & Lying" in a separate tweet.
Meanwhile, Cooper pondered whether the president's son might apologize to him.
"What are the chances @DonaldJTrumpJr apologizes for lying about me? Im not holding my breath," Cooper tweeted.