 Fox News anchor Shepard Smith on Thursday criticized President Trump Donald John Trump Airstrikes hit Syria air base: Syrian state media Trump, Macron agree on 'strong, joint response' to alleged Syria chemical attack Trump congratulates Patrick Reed on Masters win MORE for bashing reporters gathered at a lengthy Thursday press conference, calling on him to answer legitimate questions from news outlets. “I think this is going to be his presidential style,” Lord replied. The button, however, misspelled the Russian word for “reset” on it, instead having the word for “overcharged.” “Hillary Clinton did a reset — remember — with the stupid plastic button that made us all look like a bunch of jerks. Great level of confidence and optimism - even before tax plan rollout!” 
 
 There’s been a boom in the cottage industry of diagnosing the president’s mental health from afar these days, the kind of thing that shouldn’t even be done by licensed professionals, much less amateurs. “I had somebody here locally say to me during the campaign, you know, they recognized me, and they came over and they said — and it was a comment about CNN, which I’ll be happy to make on air here, just so you know,” Lord started. “We had a very good talk, especially the second one — lasted for a pretty long period of time,” Trump said of his calls with Putin. He dodged inquiries about his campaign's links to Russia and talked down several reporters before they could finish their questions. And at times, it was pretty tense after a week of headlines about setbacks, controversy and chaos surrounding the White House. This administration is running like a fine-tuned machine, despite the fact that I can’t get my cabinet approved.” 
 
 He argued that, in the face of the evidence, he had already accomplished much. Tapper later mentioned a reporter from NBC who called out President Trump for incessantly calling the media “fake news” while also “saying things that are not true,” noting the reporter was asking, “How do you have credibility to call us fake news?” 
 
 “I think it was a simple mistake,” replied Lord, calling the reporter’s question “nitpicky.” He then proceeded to launch an attack on the network. “I said to myself,” said Trump, “‘What happens when I’m dealing with the problem of North Korea?’” 
 
 So how can Trump complain about leaks of from his shop when he said he loved Wikileaks when it was releasing e-mails from Clinton campaign operatives? When a reporter pointed out that Trump was overstating his winning margin, the president said: "Well, I don't know, I was given that information." A look at some of his claims in a news conference Thursday and how they compare with the facts: 
 
 TRUMP: "To be honest I inherited a mess. He excoriated CNN for its poor ratings, mocked the BBC as “that’s another beauty,” and responded to a question about anti-Semitism, saying to his questioner, “OK, sit down, I understand the rest of your question.” 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ditching decorum and diplomacy, Trump told the press, “the public doesn’t believe you anymore.” 
 
 The president took on the White House press corps after a week of negative news. “You can’t say he’s not responsive to the press,” Alice Stewart, a former reporter and current CNN contributor, GOP strategist and Trump supporter, said after the news conference. “He answered all the questions from all over the press corps and put to rest the long-standing dialogue that he shuts down certain news outlets.” 
 
 A week’s worth of pent up questions gushed forth at the briefing. He asked an African-American reporter whether she could help set up a meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus. But mostly it was Trump's bravado on display, as when he incorrectly asserted that his Electoral College victory had been the largest of any president since Ronald Reagan — and then simply dismissed a reporter's attempt to correct him.
– President Trump ripped into the "dishonest" and "out of control" media during his press conference Thursday—and it didn't take long for the media to fire back. Fox News anchor Shepard Smith was among those who criticized the president, saying he "keeps repeating ridiculous throwaway lines that are not true at all and sort of avoiding this issue of Russia as if we're some kind of fools for asking the question," the Hill reports. Smith said Trump "owes it to the American people" to answer legitimate questions liked the ones about Russia that he dismissed as "fake news." But not all the reviews were so negative. A look at coverage: Yes, he was "combative," observes Mara Liasson at NPR, "but he was also funny and charming like he was with the press during all those years in New York as a fixture in the tabloids. ... I think that he will get a lot of credit for doing this. I think it will thrill his supporters." The Washington Post fact-checks what it describes as 15 "dubious claims" from the conference, including Trump's claim that he had the "biggest electoral college win since Reagan." Trump had a total of 304 electoral college votes, which ranks sixth in the eight elections since Reagan's 525-vote 1984 landslide. Only George W. Bush won with fewer than Trump. "I was given that information," Trump said when a reporter challenged him on the statement. The AP takes a close look at Trump's "I inherited a mess line" and decides the claim itself is messy. CNN contributor Jeffrey Lord, reacting to scathing reviews: “Lord, I think we saw two different press conferences," he said, per Raw Story. "From my perspective, I thought he was relaxed, he was funny, he was on point. He took the whole issue of the media, and he had a very candid conversation." Politico has an exhaustive list of the topics Trump covered during the 77-minute presser, ranging from nuclear holocaust to CNN, which he downgraded from "fake news" to "very fake news." BuzzFeed has video of one of the conference's most heavily commented upon moments: when Trump asked a black reporter if she could set up a meeting between him and the Congressional Black Caucus. Presidential historians tell the AP that no president, including Nixon during the Watergate scandal, has publicly turned on the press the way Trump did. "It was bizarre theater," says Rice University history professor Douglas Brinkley. "He turned a presidential press conference into a reality-TV show in which he can be the star and browbeat anyone who objects to him with the power of his office." GOP strategist and CNN contributor Alice Stewart also found a few things to praise in Trump's performance. "You can't say he's not responsive to the press," she tells the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "He answered all the questions from all over the press corps and put to rest the long-standing dialogue that he shuts down certain news outlets." Vox lists nine moments that it suggests back up Jake Tapper's description of the press conference as "wild" and "unhinged," including Trump's claim that "the leaks are real" but "the news is fake." Late-night hosts approached the press conference as gleefully as a kid unwrapping Christmas presents, and the Washington Post rounds up some of their best lines. "My guess is he did it because he's mad and he just wanted to blow off some steam," Jimmy Kimmel said. "The tone of the press conference was like if your dad found a pack of cigarettes under your mattress." David Graham at the Atlantic looks at the continual theme of complaint in the conference and wonders: Does Trump hate his new job?