Donald Trump took to Twitter on Monday to hit back against media reports indicating that a majority of Americans looked unfavourably on his presidency, saying "any negative polls are fake news."

On Friday a CNN poll indicated that 53 per cent of Americans disapproved of the way Trump is handling his presidential transition, described by the network as "the highest disapproval for a new elected president since polls began tracking those results".

In a run of tweets criticising mainstream media outlets Mr Trump said: "Any negative polls are fake news, just like the CNN, ABC, NBC polls in the election. Sorry, people want border security and extreme vetting."

Another tweet, thought to be a response to suggestions that chief strategist Stephen Bannon is holding the reins in White House decision-making, Mr Trump wrote: "I call my own shots, largely based on an accumulation of data, and everyone knows it. Some FAKE NEWS media, in order to marginalize, lies!"
Mr Trump also took another potshot a continuing bête noire the New York Times, writing: "The failing @nytimes writes total fiction concerning me. They have gotten it wrong for two years, and now are making up stories & sources!"
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The President's dismissal of polling was mocked and condemned on social media:
Meanwhile, Mr Trump's "accumulation of data" remarks quickly became a meme: