Sneed: Trump’s excoriation of the press is out of bounds

Follow @sneedlingsIs evil in the Oval?

President Donald Trump.

Please. Think.

Then think again.

Pause before again singling out the press as purveyors of fake, unfair, grossly overstated and inaccurate news.

Is a war of words what you really want?

Do the mean and degrading words you use to demonize journalists give you a magic jolt of mojo?

Isn’t being president of the world’s most powerful country enough zeitgeist?

Is it really necessary to spit angry adjectives and vindictive verbs as bazookas, bangalores and bullets to demolish journalism in what appears to be your personal battle to weaken the First Amendment?

Follow @sneedlingsIf so, journalists will continue to fight to get it right.

And getting it right is hard.

Damn hard.

As a Chicago reporter and columnist since 1967, I can tell you developing sources is painstaking; research is backbreaking; trust is an elusive truffle after a long dig for the truth; and getting it wrong is always devastating.

You can block us from news briefings, lock us out of press conferences, and defer to those reporters you feel are friends rather than foes.

But in the end, truth will tell — and it will tell on you.

La la Melania . . .

Hmmm.

Well, do tell.

First lady Melania Trump, whose last tweet was on Election Day, Nov. 8, 2016, has only 825,000 followers compared to her Twitter frenzied husband, President Trump — who has 25.5 million followers.

But she does follow 55 people/groups on Twitter, which include — not surprisingly — 32 follows dealing with fashion, beauty and apparel.

Among the Trump children from various wives, Melania does not follow Tiffany Trump, daughter of Marla Maples; she does follow CNN, despite her husband’s fake news attacks on the cable news station, and Barbara Walters; and among a minor list of celebs, she follows Sean Diddy Combs.

And, finally, Melania follows the astrology signs: Pisces, Gemini and Taurus.

The Pitt stop . . .

The Oscar press set is quivering.

Their pens are poised for comments made by actor Brad Pitt if the highly touted Indie film “Moonlight,” which he backed, wins best picture.

• The reason? Will Pitt, who is in the process of being divorced from actress Angelina Jolie, mention his family if he’s part of the stage crew accepting the Oscar for Best Picture?

Murphy’s flaw . . .

Huh?

Sports memorabilia impresario Grant DePorter, who successfully pitched a premise to baseball junkies how the number 108 was the Chicago Cubs’ lucky number, has come up with a new number for the Cubbies.

An unlucky number.

The number 13.

Here’s why.

• Unpopular former Cubs owner Charles Murphy was forced out of baseball after the season ended in 1913.

• A pet “Billy” goat named “Murphy” became the source of the first Cubs curse when it was ejected from a Cubs game in 1945 at Wrigley Field’s gate 13.

• The black cat that ran onto Shea Stadium on Sept. 9, 1969, while the Cubs faced the New York Mets, is synonymous with the number 13. (The Cubs’ promising season collapsed, and the Mets went on to win the World Series that year.)

• The Cubs defeated the San Diego Padres 13-0 in Game 1 of the 1984 National League Championship Series but went on to lose the series in five heartbreaking games.

• The infamous foul (Bartman) ball, which helped lose the Cubs’ bid to win the National League Championship Series in 2003, was hit on pitch number 113 to a fan in seat number 113 and was auctioned off for $113,000 before being blown to bits.

• Then New York Mets slugger Daniel Murphy, who blew the Cubs away in a 2015 World Series bid, was drafted in the 13th round.

But, hold on, Grant.

Here’s the kicker.

The Cubs did win the World Series 13 years after the Bartman ball fiasco.

Blimey!

Canoodleville: In case you didn’t know, Brit actress Jenna Coleman — who plays Queen Victoria in the hit PBS series — is actually the real life squeeze of actor Tom Hughes, who plays her husband, Prince Albert, in the hit drama about England’s iconic monarch.

Sneedlings . . .

Calendar date: The sword and the cross: Watch for top cop Eddie Johnson, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart and activist priest Father Michael Pfleger to participate in a panel at National Louis University. . . . I spy: Actor John “Mad Men” Slattery spotted dining at Gibsons on Monday night. . . . Saturday’s birthdays: Chelsea Handler, 42; Joakim Noah, 32, and Carrot Top, 52. . . . Sunday’s birthdays: Erykah Badu, 46; Michael Bolton, 64, and Tim Kaine, 59.

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