From Salon magazine
Say what you will about American politics, right or left, conservative or liberal; if there is one bedrock value in American life, it is the absolute devotion to freedom of religion, speech, press, petition and assembly — that is, the First Amendment, and with it, the ability to openly follow one’s own moral compass and to discuss important issues of the day from one’s own perspective.
No candidate for office can threaten this bedrock value without incurring the wrath of an aroused electorate. Yet Donald Trump and followers insist that the “evil” media must be muzzled for their convenience, and that the Constitution is no impediment.
In recent months, Trump has repeatedly demonized the media, to the pointwhere reporters covering his rallies have been beaten and abused; he has
threatened libel suits against his critics; and he has announced plans to “loosen up” standards in defamation law, thus allowing public figures and officials to sue their critics.
The media are “horrible people,” Trump said in a speech Oct. 13 in Florida.
The most powerful weapon deployed by the Clintons is the corporate media: the press. Let’s be clear on one thing, the corporate media in our country is no longer involved in journalism. They’re a political special interest, no different than any lobbyist or any other financial entity with a total political agenda and the agenda is not for you, it’s for themselves… Their agenda is to elect crooked Hillary Clinton at any costs, at any price, no matter how many lives they destroy,” he continued. “For them, it’s a war. And for them, nothing at all is out of bounds. This is a struggle for the survival of our nation. Believe me. And this will be our last chance to save it.
Columbia Journalism Review has kept track of Trump’s many threats to sue, noting, for example, that in September 2016 Trump threatened to sue the New York Times for “irresponsible intent.” There is no such tort.
In October, 2016, the New York Times decided that Trump’s candidacy had become an irresponsible threat to the First Amendment, saying:
It should come as no surprise that Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president, is as ignorant about constitutional law as he is about every other matter pertinent to the nation’s highest office.”
The Times utterly rejected his demand for a retraction of a story about victims of Trump’s sexual predation, saying:
“The Times is, of course, very familiar with threats of litigation by government officials and other public figures who oppose the paper’s reporting on them… It is yet another frightening reminder of what a Trump presidency could bring.
And Trump’s ideas about the press are a threat to journalists all around the world, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Any failure of the United States to uphold its own standards emboldens dictators and despots to restrict the media in their own countries. This appears to be of no concern to Trump, who indicated that he has no inclination to challenge governments on press freedom and the treatment of journalists.
When MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough asked him in December if his admiration of Russian President Vladimir Putin was at all tempered by the country’s history of critical journalists being murdered, his response was: “He’s running his country, and at least he’s a leader, unlike what we have in this country… Well, I think that our country does plenty of killing, too.”
Through his words and actions, Trump has consistently demonstrated a contempt for the role of the press beyond offering publicity to him and advancing his interests.
For this reason CPJ is taking the unprecedented step of speaking out now. This is not about picking sides in an election. This is recognizing that a Trump presidency represents a threat to press freedom unknown in modern history.
Or, as Barack Obama said in a speech in Ohio on Oct 14, 2016:
“You can’t just jail or ban reporters you don’t like, because there’s this thing called the First Amendment.”
ALSO SEE:
The press always got booed at Trump rallies, but now the aggression is menacing. Washington Post, Oct. 14, 2016.
Unhinged Trump supporters attack the press at a Florida rally, TPM, Oct. 14
Trump crowds rain hate on the press, Politico, Oct. 13
Update, May 1, 2017: Trump still thinking about how to “open up” libel laws to make it easier for celebrities to sue their critics. (Washington Post).
