Alwaght- “Trump is impulsive and constantly changes his mind. He lies pathologically and his words are often incoherent. The current US president is hostile to any kind of expertise and skill, and others make decisions in his name that he does not seem to be aware of.” These are the descriptions of Trump in the note by American journalist Dan Franklin.
These words are actually true and Trump’s popularity rate had strongly fallen. American judges in various states and at a federal level have overridden many of his important decisions and the impetuous tariffs he announced against foreign countries have backfired, leading to increased inflation in the country.
Trump at the same time has another prominent feature: Hostility to journalists. Here we look at the mistreatment of journalists and not tolerating them by Trump.
Attacking the journalists: Examples
There are many examples of Trump strongly attacking the journalists:
Calling journalists stupid: Three months ago, President Donald Trump lashed out at a reporter who asked him about tariffs instead of answering his question. While Trump was speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Bloomberg reporter asked if there was “pain in the market at some point you’re unwilling to tolerate?” “I think your question is so stupid,” Trump shot back.
Calling WSJ a “rotten newspaper”: Two months ago, Trump on board the Air Force One attacked the Wall Street Journalist, describing it a “rotten newspaper”, a “useless rag” and “pile of garbage” when facing questions on Jeffrey Epstein case.
Ever unsatisfied Trump
If we look at his presidency terms, we see that Trump is never satisfied with the media coverage. He always wants a more flexible and advertising-driven media, and even despite Fox News’s firm support for him, he also complains about this media outlet. Last month, Trump also complained to Fox News CEO Rupert Murdoch about the network airing Democratic ads. So, we can say that the Trump era is a new era of hostility by the US president towards the big media.
In fact, Donald Trump often enjoys being the subject of the press, but as much as he enjoys being the subject of the media, he also tries to blacken the press or threaten journalists. He had threatened during his 2016 election campaign and during interviews that if he were to return to the White House, he would take revenge on the news media that angered him.
A president against the freedom of press
CNN in a report citing the freedom of press advocates said that Trump is intentionally inflaming an atmosphere hostile to independent reporting on media. According to the report, 1 out of 3 journalists in the US say they face violence or threat of violence.
“President Trump is a champion of free speech, and everyone is safer under Trump, including journalists,” a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee told NPR when asked about concerns about the crackdown on free speech and violence against journalists in the US. The claim comes after a new survey of hundreds of journalists in the country found that 36 percent of them said they had been physically assaulted or threatened with violence while working. Journalists particularly said they felt more threatened at Trump’s rallies.
Even Trump himself has threatened journalists on several occasions, including during his 2022 campaign for the Republican nomination for Congress, when he threatened to jail journalists who did not reveal their confidential sources in reports with national security implications. He joked that the prospect of prison rape would loosen reporters’ lips about their sources.
“When this person realizes that he is going to be the bride of another prisoner shortly, he will say, ‘I’d very much like to tell you exactly who that was,’” Trump told a crowd at a Texas rally.
Last year, Trump called for an investigation into NBC News for betrayal in its coverage of his own trial and in several speeches suggested the network might be de-licensed.
In 2020, the Committee to Protect Journalists in a special report titled Trump Administration and Media said that Trump has a habit of attacking the news media at rallies, in interviews, and online, with hundreds of tweets. He has repeatedly described the press as “fake news,” “enemy of the people,” “dishonest,” “corrupt,” “worthless reporters,” “bad people,” “scum of humanity,” and “some of the worst people you’ve ever seen.”
Trump has targeted specific news organizations in more than 600 tweets, including the New York Times, CNN, NBC and MSNBC, Fox News, and the Washington Post. He has often called his opponents “fake,” “ugly,” “disgraceful,” “stupid,” “clueless,” “idiotic,” “sad,” “failed,” and “dying” media outlets, and has repeatedly slandered journalists.
With this in mind, it seems that Trump is trying to silence his critics. Many political experts believe that Trump’s approach to the media does not give out a good signal for the freedom of expression in the US and it will likely make the situation in the country worse than today in the coming years.
