What did Donald Trump do today?

He said that the media was bad because James O'Keefe said so.

After a busy Saturday of 82 tweets (and no work-related activity), Trump was relatively restrained today with his screen-time, but it did involve him tweeting this:

James O'Keefe is a convicted criminal who specializes in hoax videos in which he supposedly catches liberal organizations or media outlets in misbehavior. He's been caught trying to sneak into a senator's office to tamper with the phones. Last year he attempted to plant false allegations of sexual assault against Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, in order to discredit Moore's actual accusers by uncovering the hoax later. (The targeted paper, the Washington Post, refused to print the uncorroborated story.) In 2010, he planned to try to discredit a CNN reporter interviewing him by renting a boat, stocking it with sex toys, and seducing her—and then called her a "bubble-headed-bleach-blonde" when the plan backfired. 

Like a number of professional trolls, O'Keefe has been running out of patrons lately. But Trump has made no secret of his desire to discredit all media sources that he doesn't directly control. And given that Trump's ability to escape criminal prosecution seems increasingly tied to his ability to stay in office, it is more important than ever for Trump that his supporters tune out any evidence that doesn't fit with the Trump narrative.

Who cares?

• There are more important things for a president to do than promote internet trolls.

• In a democracy, leaders defend free speech even though it might be used against them.