Trumpâ€™s attack on the press [Archive]

ckaihatsu

8th July 2017, 14:07

Trump is going to get a reporter killed

Chris,

Donald Trump is ramping up his attacks on journalists. Last weekend, Trump tweeted a video of himself punching a man with a CNN logo superimposed on his face, a new level of incitement that could get somebody in the media killed. [1] But that's not all: In the last two weeks, he and his administration have repeatedly called six of the largest U.S. media outlets "fake news" [2]; banned cameras over and over from the daily press briefing [3]; prohibited journalists from attending a re-election fundraising where the president threatened to sue CNN [4][5]; used disreputable "sting videos" from a known liar to attack CNN from the White House podium [6]; and tweeted a sexist smear to undermine MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski. [7]

Donald Trump has been threatening the press since before he took office -- and these attacks will only get more intense. We can't let him get away with making journalists the enemy. Not only will someone get hurt, but this is literally taken from the authoritarian playbook. It'll have dire consequences for us all if we don't stop it.

Read and share this important article about Trump's attacks on the media and why they matter: http://mm4a.org/2sQZuXp (http://mm4a.org/2sQZuXp)

Why is Trump turning up the heat now? Because journalists are the distributors of facts and facts undermine the lies fueling Trump's policy agenda. So Trump is increasingly turning to a tried-and-true authoritarian tactic: Whipping his supporters and sycophants into a frenzy against the truth-tellers so they don't believe the news unless it comes from a White House-approved source.

Thanks in part to your efforts earlier this year, some members of the press are openly standing up to Trump's assault on the media, but it's not enough. [8] The White House Correspondents' Association and the broader media need to get serious about sticking together and fighting back when Trump attacks. And people like us need to spread the word about what he's trying to do, or he'll end up getting away with it.

Take action by making sure your friends and networks see Trump's attacks on the press for what they really are: http://mm4a.org/2sQZuXp (http://mm4a.org/2sQZuXp)

For years, right-wing pundits like Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh have tried to discredit mainstream reporters with accusations of bias. And now, Trump is trying to use that legacy to silence his opposition. Let's make sure it doesn't work.

Onward!

Angelo Carusone
@GoAngelo (https://twitter.com/goangelo)
President
Media Matters for America

Footnotes:

[1] "Ana Navarro: Trump 'is going to get somebody killed in the media,'" Media Matters for America, July 2, 2017
[2] Donald Trump's Twitter account, June 27, 2017
[3] "'Why did you turn them off?': Reporters grill Sean Spicer or decision to reduce on-camera press briefings," Business Insider, June 26, 2017
[4] "Press barred from Trump fundraiser," CBS News, June 28, 2017
[5] "Here's the audio of Donald Trump's private RNC fundraiser at his own hotel," The Intercept, June 30, 2017
[6] "The White House and Trump's propagandists teamed up to attack CNN at today's press briefing," Media Matters for America, June 29, 2017
[7] "Trump's Mika Brzezinski tweets show that he hates women -- especially members of the press," Media Matters for America, June 29, 2017
[8] "Reporter who challened the deputy press secretary says the Trump administration is 'bullying' reporters," Media Matters for America, June 28, 2017

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