If the “drama” the last several days have proved anything, it is that there is no limits to the depth the war between President Donald Trump and members of the “opposition party” (aka the mainstream press) will sink before reaching bottom.

On Sunday, Trump took his platform of choice — his Twitter — to fire off another salvo in his ongoing feud with  CNN (which he has recently dubbed the “Fraud News Network”). Trump posted a clip of his appearance 10 years ago at World Wrestling Entertainment’s “Wrestlemania” show where he tackled WWE Owner Vince McMahon to the floor in a scripted moment during a match — however, the clip Trump posted superimposed an image of the CNN logo over his opponent’s face.

Rather than simply rolling their eyes at the juvenile behavior of the commander in chief, employees at CNN decided to stoop even lower.

In a story posted on their website Tuesday, Andrew Kaczynski, a reporter with the news network, wrote that the company had tracked down the person who created the original image that Trump tweeted. Kaczynski wrote that the creator contacted the company’s KFile division to confirm his identity, and that the man did not want his name published.

Kaczynski said that CNN would respect his wishes, as the creator was a private citizen and had apologized for his actions. Near the end of the story, Kaczynski  wrote: “CNN reserves the right to publish his identity should any of that change.”

If it sounds like the company used possibility of exposing the man’s identity in order to extract a public apology from him, you are not alone.

Yesterday, many took to Twitter to express their outrage at the article, which led to the hashtag “#CNNBlackmail” to jump to the top of the trending topics on the social media website.

If the editors at CNN hoped that going after someone who had nothing to do with Trump’s “attack” against the network would be some sort of moral achievement, they are sorely mistaken. Instead, the company looks even more petty, petulant and down right vindictive than Trump.

Yes, the president should behave like a grown-up, and should stay off Twitter. But we have known for years that Trump is a loose cannon with a propensity for shoving his foot down his mouth.

As journalists ourselves, we must come down harder on CNN’s actions, though.

Right now, the entire industry is facing accusations of widespread bias and lack of professional decorum. Regardless of how you feel about Trump or whether or not the media has some responsibility to abandon objectivity in order to drive him out of office, there is no excuse for CNN going after a private citizen for creating an image the company found offensive.

If reporters at CNN want to gain the moral high ground over the president, they must act like moral people first and foremost. Sinking to the president’s level and engaging in the the most base of mudslinging benefits no one — especially not the public they claim they want to inform.

Opinions expressed are those of the editorial board consisting of General Manager Ambrosia Neldon and editors Scott Novak and Ted Yoakum.