ON POLITICS

At six month mark, here are six of Donald Trump's most controversial tweets

USA TODAY

With just 140 characters, President Trump can spark a firestorm. We've witnessed time and again in the early days of his presidency.

As Trump hits his six months in office, here are six of his most controversial missives on social media.

1. Wire tapped

Back in March, Trump accused his predecessor Barack Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

Accusing a president of politically motivated surveillance of a U.S. citizen is a serious charge – and yet Trump did not offer any evidence of his claim. What's more, the White House did not immediately offer an explanation for the tweet sent on a Saturday.

It's still unclear what exactly prompted this accusation. President Trump appeared on Fox News on March 15 to say that he read a New York Times story on Jan. 20 that referred to the wiretapping (Politifact found that the story in question did not actually say Obama wiretapped Trump).

Since then, officials have come forward to denounce the president's claim, including leaders of both the Senate Intelligence Committee and the House Intelligence Committee, and then-FBI director James Comey.

2. Witch hunt

On May 17, the Justice Department announced that former FBI director Robert Mueller would be a special counsel overseeing the ongoing investigation into possible collusion between Trump associates and Russians who sought to influence the election by hacking Democrats.

A day later, the president fumed on Twitter.

"Witch hunt" has since become Trump's preferred term for the ongoing probes, which have only widened after the president fired his FBI director James Comey and the special counsel was appointed.

The term sparked controversy on Twitter for being demonstrably untrue (for related news, please see: our list of politicians treated more unfairly than Trump). And Rep. Seth Moulton, who, you know, represents a town known for actual witch hunts, replied: "As the Representative of Salem, MA, I can confirm that this is false."

3. Comey tapes

In the days after Trump abruptly fired the FBI director, Trump suggested on Twitter he secretly recorded his conversations with James Comey – and that he might release those tapes.

Trump's tweet led to questions of whether the president had indeed taped their conversations – which the White House for weeks would not confirm or deny. Comey himself created a stir when he said, "Lordy, I hope there are tapes," while testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee. (He even gave Trump permission to release them, saying they would back up his version of events.)

Lawmakers demanded the White House release any recordings, but it was all for naught, apparently. Trump tweeted on June 22 – a full 41 days after the tweet – that he "did not make, and do not have, any such recordings."

4. Enemy of the American people

We couldn't make a list of the president's controversial tweets without bringing up his favorite descriptor of many major news organizations covering his presidency – "fake news." While the president frequently denounces "fake news" coverage, one tweet about mainstream media organizations stood out above the rest: When he called media organizations "the enemy of the American People."

Media organizations and politicians immediately criticized the tweet. As the New York Times noted, the "enemy of the people" label is "more typically used by leaders to refer to hostile foreign governments or subversive organizations." But that hasn't stopped him from lambasting the press since then.

In another controversial tweet against the media, Trump earlier this month posted a mocked-up wrestling video of him body-slamming and beating up a character labeled as CNN. "#FraudNews," Trump tagged it, sparking a debate about whether the president was encouraging violence against the media.

5. Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough

On June 29, Trump kicked off his morning by attacking the hosts of Morning Joe in a pair of tweets.

Trump's attacks on Brzezinski in particular drew criticism, including from Trump's fellow Republicans. "Please just stop," Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska tweeted. "This isn't normal and it's beneath the dignity of your office."

Though Trump's wife Melania Trump had pledged to create an anti-cyberbullying campaign as First Lady, the White House doubled down to defend the tweets against accusations of misogyny and lowering the civility of debate in Washington.

6. Covfefe

Will we ever truly know what happened here? Just past midnight on May 31, the president tweeted, "Despite the constant negative press covfefe" and nothing more.

Hours later, the tweet was deleted, and he followed it up with, "Who can figure out the true meaning of 'covfefe' ??? Enjoy!"

Trump spokesman Sean Spicer later insisted that the president "knew exactly what he meant."

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