Mr. President, Journalism Is Not A Crime
"From CNN To Fox News, no journalist is the enemy." — Jim Acosta.
President Donald Trump's public war with the media is more serious than many people seem to believe. The president is the face of our country, a position that holds the greatest amount of respect, honor and power. Journalists are the balance to that power and their mission is to be the voice of the people and hold officials accountable.
The president's strong dislike for certain news media has turned into a long string of attacks on networks, officials and specific journalists. Many of these attacks have taken place on Twitter and, increasingly, in person.
Here's where there is a problem.
Whether you are a fan of transparent or opinionated news, President Trump's narrative that any news media are the "enemy of the people" is just not valid.
Below are examples of the president's constant battle with the media.
Don Lemon of CNN and Lebron James
Lebron James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon. He made Lebron look smart, which isn… https://t.co/pLmjfeGj6d— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1533353856.0
On August 3, 2018, the president took to Twitter to address his dislike for Don Lemon and an interview he did with Lebron James.
Cecilia Vega and ABC News
Cecilia Vega is another journalist who has been ridiculed for merely asking the president a question. Vega is a Senior White House Correspondent for ABC News.
Yamiche Alcindor and PBS NewsHour
The president as shown in the clip above chose to single out three African-American women, who are journalists.
The journalists are Abby Phillip, a CNN White House Correspondent, April Ryan, a CNN Political Analyst and Yamiche Alcindor, a White House Correspondent of PBS NewsHour and a Political Contributor to NBC News and MSNBC.
April Ryan, Abby Phillip and CNN
President Trump chose to avoid a question by Abby Phillip and instead make remarks on her reporting. Trump also chose to ridicule April Ryan for her role as a journalist.
Limiting Who Can Ask Questions
In this clip, the president explains his anger with CNN at the given time. Trump goes on to deny CNN reporters including Jim Acosta, the ability to ask him questions because their "organization is terrible."
Notice a pattern?
Of the few examples, many who were called out were women, people of color, and journalists that hold the president accountable.
The problem with the president's attacks is that the public is inclined to believe him. Making journalists the enemy, not only conflicts with our first amendment rights, but it conflicts with what makes our country so great.
This behavior is not responsible for, but definitely encourages the wrong type of behavior from the public as hate crimes have risen 17 percent, from 2016 to 2017.
This has led to many attacks including the mailing of pipe bombs to 16 critics of the president: two former presidents, the CNN Center, and more.
Here's where it gets interesting.
Jim Acosta, CNN's chief White House correspondent, has had a rocky history with the president, which has come up in recent news.
Here is the history of the two.
A short history of Donald Trump's clashes with CNN's Jim Acostawww.youtube.com
And here is why CNN and Jim Acosta are suing the president and his top White House aides.
Trump clashes with Jim Acosta in testy exchangewww.youtube.com
The tweet below is what should scare the public, as it is an altered version of the encounter with Jim Acosta posted by Sarah Sanders.
We stand by our decision to revoke this individual’s hard pass. We will not tolerate the inappropriate behavior cl… https://t.co/xLP6P2Mm9k— Stephanie Grisham (@Stephanie Grisham) 1541647999.0
The evidence:
1) Took @PressSec Sarah Sanders' video of briefing 2) Tinted red and made transparent over CSPAN video 3) Red motio… https://t.co/t2XdqWQFZf— rafael (@rafael) 1541666089.0
But here is the deal breaker.
All media networks are siding with the truth. Jim Acosta should be given his press pass back and Fox News agrees.
In a Forbes article, Fox News president Jay Wallace was quoted saying, "Secret Service passes for working journalists should never be weaponized. While we don't condone the growing antagonistic tone by both the president and the press at recent media avails, we do support a free press, access and open exchanges for the American people."
What unities them?
The first amendment.
That is one thing the president cannot take away from the media.
Jim Acosta: From CNN To Fox News, No Journalist Is The Enemywww.youtube.com
@samlucasss / Twitter
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