Donald Trump is on a collision course with some of the big news networks and newspapers. He is playing a dangerous game which could cost him dearly. Trump's broadside on so-called "fake news" and trying to sideline the media outlets which criticise him is not only an attack on the free press and speech, it is also rather silly from a man who is now sitting in the White House and who should lead by example. But he does have a Trump card. Social media means that he can speak directly to the electorate and he is using his Twitter account to brilliant effect. It has millions of followers and of course it is unedited, pure Trump.
The president is no fool but he doesn´t like to be criticised or questioned. So he tries to turn the tables on those who dare to ask the question he doesn't want to answer. I suspect that in the end the media will win; the Trump administration can´t attempt to block out the things that they do not want the electorate to know. So what is fake news? Well fake news is the news that Trump doesn't like, news that criticises the president and shows him in a poor light.
The media has its faults. The BBC is constantly being criticised by successive Conservative governments for being "left-wing" but that doesn't mean that the government will not answer its questions. In fact, the only point in which it appeared that the US president was angered by Theresa May was when she asked the BBC for its question during their joint press conference. The BBC question was not "pro-Trump" and the president turned to May and said "well, there goes that relationship".
Trump is going to have to learn to live with the media and take criticism otherwise his stay in the White House is going to be a media mess. And that will make poor reading for the president.