Trump posts video of him 'wrestling' CNN

US President Donald Trump posted a short video on his Twitter account in which he is portrayed wrestling and punching a figure whose head has been replaced by the logo for CNN.

The video was posted on Sunday and is about 28 seconds long. It appears to be an edited clip from a year-old appearance by Trump in WrestleMania, an annual professional wrestling event, the New York Times reported.

The clip ends with an onscreen restyling of the CNN logo as "FNN: Fraud News Network".

The wrestling video, which was also posted to the official @POTUS Twitter account, stirred criticism, disbelief and dumbfoundedness, the daily reported.

In a statement, CNN called it a "sad day when the President of the US encourages violence against reporters".

Some journalists denounced its portrayal of violence as dangerous, saying it could incite attacks or threats against news media employees.

"I think it is unseemly that the President would attack journalists for doing their jobs and encourage such anger at the media," said Dean Baquet, Executive Editor of the New York Times.

Trump's Homeland Security Adviser Thomas Bossert defended the video. "No one would perceive that as a threat," Bossert said.

--IANS

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