I don't think he misunderstood the meaning at all. I think he just realized he could turn the label into an attack on legitimate news sources that were printing

I don't think he misunderstood the meaning at all. I think he just realized he could turn the label into an attack on legitimate news sources that were printing unflattering stories about him while devaluing the use of the term against actual false reporting that benefited him in one fell swoop. I'd find his strategy brilliant if it weren't for the fact it is an all-out assault on the very concept of truth and it's likely doing irreparable damage to the very institutions this nation is founded upon.