Washington, July 5 (RHC)-- U.S. Senator and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has called an altered video of President Donald Trump wrestling and punching the CNN logo ”an outrage.”  In an exclusive interview with USA Today, Sanders said he was concerned about Trump's attempt to intimidate the news media. 

The U.S. congressional representative said: "I think it basically encourages violence in this country at a time when there are a lot of unstable people walking the streets of America.”  And Senator Sanders added: "I think it is a very clear goal, a clear effort on the part of Trump to intimidate not just CNN, but to intimidate the media.  His goal is for them not to expose what he does." 

On Sunday, Trump posted on Twitter an altered video of himself wrestling and punching a man with a CNN logo superimposed on his face.  The 30-second video became an instant hit after it was retweeted by more than 93,000 users in less than three hours.  The clip is an altered version of an old video, showing Trump pretending to beat up Vince McMahon, an American professional wrestling promoter. 

Sanders has regularly rebuked the "corporate media," a criticism that dates at least to his term as mayor of Burlington, Vermont in the 1980s.  The Vermont senator had expressed his displeasure towards reporters as a presidential candidate last year, accusing them of ignoring what he viewed as the most important issues facing the country.  However, Sanders said his critique of the media is distinct from Trump’s aggressive attacks.  

“You know, every politician, every public official will have differences with the media in terms of how they cover a story. Right? That’s natural," Sanders said.  "But I have never suggested ever that mainstream media is fake, that everything they write is a lie, that you shouldn’t believe anything they write." 

During the interview, Sanders also called the Republican proposal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare "a disaster for working families." vHe said the reductions would harm families of nursing home patients who rely on Medicaid.  "This legislation is the most dangerous and harmful piece of legislation I have seen since I have been in the United States Congress," Sanders said.  "It is a disaster for working families, and we have got to do everything we can to see that it’s defeated." 

The Senate Republican health care proposal would leave an additional 22 million Americans uninsured by 2026 and cut Medicaid funding, according to the Congressional Budget Office.