Tyrant idolizer and drug lord pal Donald Trump has lots of influence these days, and he’s taken to wielding it with the delicacy of a flame thrower.

On Sunday, Politico reported that ABC severed a co-branding partnership with the New Hampshire Union Leader, the largest newspaper in the state, for the upcoming Republican primary debate on Feb. 6.

The Republican presidential frontrunner tweeted on Saturday that he was “protesting” the paper, and then took credit for its removal from the debate on Twitter Sunday, saying that the paper exhibited “highly unethical behavior.” The relationship between them has been strained for months, with Trump calling the publisher a “lowlife” after he published an editorial accurately comparing Trump to villain Biff Tannen from the “Back to the Future” films.

AdWeek reports that Trump’s tweet did not play a role in ABC’s decision, however.

The Union Leader endorsed New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for president last November. It has since, as newspapers are wont to do, been reporting on the ridiculous and grotesque things that tumble out of the gaping mouth-hole of Donald Trump.

[Image via Getty]


Contact the author at melissa.cronin@gawker.com.