Trump Escalates His Criticism of the News Media, Fueling National Debate
- 6 years ago
Trump Escalates His Criticism of the News Media, Fueling National Debate
“Naturally, the elite media responded — not by admonishing Weigel over his inexcusably inaccurate trolling — but with their favorite claim
that Trump is the one man in America who does not have the First Amendment right to criticize the media,” wrote John Nolte of Breitbart News, the site run by Mr. Trump’s former chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon.
At one point, Mr. Trump labeled some outlets “the enemy of the American people,”
and at another, he said, “It’s frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write.”
For the most part, Mr. Trump’s blasts at the news media have been rhetorical.
While news organizations targeted by Mr. Trump have corrected factual errors and in one recent case suspended a reporter, Mr. Trump has never backed down, for instance, from unsubstantiated claims
that President Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower or that millions of illegal immigrants cast votes last year, swinging the popular tally against him.
Mr. Trump issued no correction, and Ms. Sanders at the time said it did not matter if the video were real because “the threat is real.”
Mr. Trump has had a long history of interacting with the news media from his days as a New York developer,
but it was largely transactional as he sought favorable coverage.
WASHINGTON — President Trump has escalated his fiery attacks on the news media, seizing on a recent string of mistaken reports to bolster his case
that he is being persecuted by a left-leaning establishment out to bring him down and fueling a national debate over truth, accountability and a free press.
“Naturally, the elite media responded — not by admonishing Weigel over his inexcusably inaccurate trolling — but with their favorite claim
that Trump is the one man in America who does not have the First Amendment right to criticize the media,” wrote John Nolte of Breitbart News, the site run by Mr. Trump’s former chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon.
At one point, Mr. Trump labeled some outlets “the enemy of the American people,”
and at another, he said, “It’s frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write.”
For the most part, Mr. Trump’s blasts at the news media have been rhetorical.
While news organizations targeted by Mr. Trump have corrected factual errors and in one recent case suspended a reporter, Mr. Trump has never backed down, for instance, from unsubstantiated claims
that President Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower or that millions of illegal immigrants cast votes last year, swinging the popular tally against him.
Mr. Trump issued no correction, and Ms. Sanders at the time said it did not matter if the video were real because “the threat is real.”
Mr. Trump has had a long history of interacting with the news media from his days as a New York developer,
but it was largely transactional as he sought favorable coverage.
WASHINGTON — President Trump has escalated his fiery attacks on the news media, seizing on a recent string of mistaken reports to bolster his case
that he is being persecuted by a left-leaning establishment out to bring him down and fueling a national debate over truth, accountability and a free press.