President Trump’s slams against major media outlets have been growing, and Republican opponents are beginning to confront their issues with it.
It has been an eventful week of numerous attacks made by the president against the media. On Thursday, February 16, at the president’s press conference, Trump described the press as “doing a tremendous disservice to the American people” and “out of control.” The next day, the president shared a tweet that would soon become viral, calling the media the enemy of the American people. A day later, at his campaign rally in Melbourne, Florida, Mr. Trump refers to the media as producing “one false story after another with no sources” and as unwilling to “report the truth.”
These recent statements caused a lot of controversy among many people – not only coming from the the president’s critical opposing party, but from renowned Republicans as well. Members of President Trump’s own party are beginning to voice their opinions opposing his attacks on the media.
On Sunday, Senator John McCain defended the free press in an interview with NBC News’ Chuck Todd. McCain was asked about Trump’s recent behavior toward the media, specifically his angry tweet from Friday. The senator condemned Trump’s behavior, stating, “without [the press]…that’s how dictators get started.”
This is not the first time McCain and Trump have been shown to have conflict between one another. The two are known to have major disagreements regarding foreign policy. And throughout the president’s campaign season, McCain publicly denounced Trump as a candidate. In response, he criticized McCain, an American veteran, saying he is “not a war hero…because he was captured.”Senator McCain stands by his opinions of Mr. Trump, disagreeing with many of his policies, specifically Trump’s stance on the media. “If you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and many times adversarial press,” McCain said.
Senator McCain is not the only Republican politician who is speaking out against the president’s recent attacks on the media. John Kasich, governor of Ohio and former Republican presidential nominee, also spoke out condemning Trump’s attacks on the press this weekend.
In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Kasich defended McCain’s comments about Trump’s attacks on the press. He provided an equally supportive opinion regarding journalists and reporters, saying, “Thank God you’re there…you’re there to hold people accountable.” Kasich acknowledged that the press is not always supportive of politicians and can often be critical of their actions, but went on to say that free press is vital to democracy. “It’s a part of America…to make sure that things have balance.”
Trump has been critical of almost all major news sources. He has denounced The New York Times, CNN, NBC, ABC, and CBS, accusing these journalists as constantly reporting “fake news.” One news source the president has consistently stood by is Fox News, claiming they have had reliable coverage of his actions.
Recently, however, even some conservative reporters at Fox News have been openly against some of Trump’s rhetoric.
Fox host Shepard Smith criticized Trump’s behavior toward reporters on Thursday. After the president’s news conference consisting of various arguments between himself and reporters, Smith ridiculed his demeanor. “You call us fake news and put us down like children for asking questions on behalf of the American people,” Smith said in regards to Trump dismissing some of the press’ questions, “We have a right to know.”
Another Fox anchor, Chris Wallace, made similar comments about the issue on “Fox News Sunday.” Wallace defended McCain’s stance on the free press, saying, “[reporters] can take criticism, but to say we’re the enemy of the American people, it really crosses an important line.”
At his rally in Florida, President Trump had defended his treatment of the press by citing past presidents who also had conflict with the press. Wallace countered this argument by reciting a quote from Thomas Jefferson that stated, “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” Wallace urged the importance of context in these situations.
Wallace continued voicing these beliefs later in the show through an interview with Chief of Staff Reince Priebus. Priebus defended Trump’s treatment of the media, claiming that most media coverage of the president is negatively biased. Wallace countered Priebus’ argument, saying, “you don’t get to tell the media what to do.”
Wallace and Smith, both conservative reporters, clearly and openly stated their opposing remarks to the president’s treatment of the press. Their statements caused a lot of controversy among dedicated supporters of the president.
Many conservative Fox News fans responded to Smith’s remarks through angry tweets claiming Smith should be fired and is too biased to work for Fox. Replies to Wallace’s statements shared similar sentiments, some calling him a fake news reporter and out of control. Many threatened to stop watching Fox if similar beliefs would continue to be shared.
Similar outcries emerged from McCain’s and Kasich’s statements. Many conservative Twitter accounts referred to the men as fake conservatives or leftists with no political credibility.
On the other hand, moderates and liberals are applauding influencing members of the Republican party for standing up against the President’s mistreatment of the media. One supportive tweet from Democratic Representative Brendan Boyle reads, “Standing up to Trump isn’t about D or R. It’s about right vs. wrong. Wouldn't feel this way w/ McCain or Kasich. They're not double agents!”
