Chris Cuomo told CNN colleague and SiriusXM radio host Michael Smerconish that he views the “fake news” label thrown at the media as the journalistic equivalent of the n-word. 
 
 Cuomo spoke to a Democratic senator today who confirmed that Neil Gorsuch expressed his concern about President Trump‘s attacks on the judiciary. Trump tweeted this in response: 
 
 Sen.Richard Blumenthal, who never fought in Vietnam when he said for years he had (major lie),now misrepresents what Judge Gorsuch told him? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2017 
 
 Chris Cuomo, in his interview with Sen. Blumenthal, never asked him about his long-term lie about his brave "service" in Vietnam. FAKE NEWS! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2017 
 
 Cuomo pushed back against Trump earlier today, but elaborated with this stunning remark to Smerconish: 
 
 I see being called ‘fake news’ as the equivalent of the n-word for journalists, the equivalent of calling an Italian any of the ugly words that people have for that ethnicity.That’s what fake news is to a journalist. It is an ugly insult, and you’d better be right if you’re going to charge a journalist with lying on purpose. 
 
 Listen above, via SiriusXM. 
 
 UPDATE –– 4:32 pm ET: Cuomo has since apologized. 
 
 [image via screengrab] 
 
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 Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com ||||| President Trump Donald John Trump7 targets Michelle Wolf took aim at during the White House correspondents’ dinner North Korea says it will dismantle nuclear test site next month: report President of White House Correspondents Association defends journalism after Trump attacks MORE is asking his supporters to help him award a “Fake News Trophy.” 
 
 “Americans are sick and tired of being lied to, insulted, and treated with outright condescension,” reads an email sent to supporters Thursday. “That’s why President Trump is crowning the 2017 KING OF FAKE NEWS before the end of the year. 
 
 “There’s no point in pretending that some journalists are anything more than peddlers of falsehoods and liberal propaganda,” it continues. 
 
 Trump has feuded with reporters and networks during his campaign and presidency, labeling unflattering coverage as “fake news.” 
 
 In November, he suggested that there should be a contest among the networks, excluding Fox News, for the “Fake News Trophy.” 
 
 We should have a contest as to which of the Networks, plus CNN and not including Fox, is the most dishonest, corrupt and/or distorted in its political coverage of your favorite President (me). They are all bad. Winner to receive the FAKE NEWS TROPHY! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2017 
 
 A Rasmussen poll conducted after Trump’s tweet found that a plurality of Americans would award Fox News the trophy. In contrast to his attacks on CNN, ABC News and other networks, Trump has been complimentary toward Fox News, praising the network and its reporters for their ratings and appearing on the network more than a dozen times for interviews. 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT 
 
 The Trump campaign’s email links to a poll where participants can vote on three media stories as “fake,” “faker” or “fakest” news. 
 
 The candidates for “fakest news” are all stories that networks either retracted, corrected or apologized for, including an ABC News report that Michael Flynn would testify against Trump; a CNN report that Trump and his son, Donald Jr., were offered early access to WikiLeaks documents; and a Time magazine report that Trump had a bust of Martin Luther King Jr. removed from the Oval Office. 
 
 “The FAKE NEWS has utterly abandoned their duty to fairly report the news to the American people,” Thursday’s email reads. “Some journalists and liberal pundits think that Americans are too stupid to see through their amateur efforts to manipulate public opinion, but THEY’RE WRONG.”
– CNN's Chris Cuomo is tired of hearing the phrase "fake news" tossed around constantly, but he's apologizing for an analogy he made about it. In an interview with Michael Smerconish on SiriusXM Thursday, Cuomo said, "I see being called 'fake news' as the equivalent of the n-word for journalists," per Mediaite. (President Trump had accused Cuomo of being a purveyor of "fake news" earlier in the day.) Cuomo's analogy drew quick condemnation online, and he soon walked it back in a tweet: "I was wrong. Calling a journalist fake (is) nothing compared to the pain of a racial slur. I should not have said it. I apologize." Meanwhile, a blogger at the Washington Post makes the case that the charge of "fake news" has lost all meaning because it is used so often by politicians who simply dislike a story.