Enemy of the Press Trump Says Media Is Corrupt
While the American democracy is already under threat, Trump is hell-bent to attack press freedom which is an essential pillar of a democratic framework.
By Rakesh Raman
As President Donald Trump is terrified because of his imminent impeachment, he is once again blaming the media for his own follies.
Today, Trump vented out his anger on his bêtes noires The New York Times and The Washington Post, which are leading the charge against Trump’s crimes including his recent attempt to take Ukraine’s help to win the 2020 election.
Some highly professional and truthful reporting by these two newspapers has led to an impeachment inquiry opened by the Democrats against Trump.
“The media is fixed and corrupt. It bears no relationship to the truth. The New York Times and The Washington Post are pure fiction. Totally dishonest reporting!” Trump tweeted baselessly.
The Media is “Fixed” and Corrupt. It bears no relationship to the truth. The @nytimes & @washingtonpost are pure fiction. Totally dishonest reporting!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 5, 2019
Trump – who is the enemy of free press – repeatedly attacks the freedom of the press and had earlier said that Times and Post quote anonymous sources that in his opinion do not exist.
Trump is largely disturbed by the truthful media reports which inform about Trump-Russia ties that allegedly helped Trump win the 2016 presidential race. And now Trump is perturbed with media reports that reveal his evil desire to win again with foreign interference in the U.S. election.
Besides abusing media outlets, Trump’s ire also falls on America’s leading journalists. Recently, Trump attacked TV journalist Chuck Todd of NBC News who has called on the press fraternity to speak up against Trump’s constant falsehood.
Trump – who cannot speak even three straight sentences without telling a lie – keeps saying that media is spreading falsehood against him. But Trump could never substantiate his claims against the truthful American press.
While the American democracy is already under threat, Trump is hell-bent to attack press freedom which is an essential pillar of a democratic framework. He also threatened to divest journalists of their credentials.
Earlier, Trump had threatened to cancel the licenses of news networks because they refused to toe the line that Trump suggests. He frequently threatens individual journalists who inform about his nefarious acts. For example, Trump attacked CNN anchor Don Lemon calling him the “dumbest man on television!”
Trump likes only those journalists who work as his toadies. Although Trump often says media is dishonest, he has some very good media friends – such as Sean Hannity and fired anchor Bill O’Reilly of Fox News – who support Trump by asking him questions that he wants to answer.
Acting as Trump’s personal spokespersons, they also openly attack all Trump opponents to influence the voters dishonestly. But Trump never called them dishonest. In fact, instead of working as an objective media outfit, Fox TV works as Trump’s own video production house.
While the news reports from highly respected media outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, and MSNBC about Trump’s idiosyncrasies are largely correct, he keeps criticizing the media in his usual cheap, vulgar language.
According to Reporters without Borders (RSF) – an organization which works for the freedom of information – the U.S. press freedom has been under increasing attack by President Trump. It adds that Trump has declared the press an “enemy of the American people” in a series of verbal attacks toward journalists.
Meanwhile, in an ongoing RMN Poll, 54% of people suggest that Congress should impeach Trump who also had allegedly taken Russia’s help to win the 2016 presidential race.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of the humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society. He also creates and publishes a number of digital publications on different subjects.
