Just when you think President Trump can do no more to shock the public, he continues to find new levels of audacity. On one of his recent Twitter rants, Trump called the news media "the enemy of the American people." This triggered a big reaction from both the media and the public, launching a trending hashtag #NotTheEnemy.
Trump's rivalry with the media is neither new nor unknown. This is just a latest in a tit for tat that we can only hope won't last for the next four years. But these comments are on a new level of impudence. This kind of arrogance and disrespect towards the media is a calling card of history's worst dictators. Even John McCain said it:"That's how dictators get started." To boot, this came just days after the President held a heated press conference described by some as unhinged and unfiltered.
It is quite worrying to think that we may have a president who does not believe in our First Amendment right to free press. Since day one of his presidency, Trump and his administration seem to have conflicts with reporters and news outlets who are just trying to do their job and report the news. A free press is the foundation of any democracy, but Trump seems to have a problem with that.
In response to the President's comments, social media has fired back with #NotMyEnemy, to defend freedom of the press as well as honor the many journalists worldwide who risked their lives to inform the public and report the truth.
The president of the biggest democracy in the world cannot just slam the media for doing their job. Trump may see it as the establishment being unfair and trying to undermine him, but in reality the media is doing exactly what it should.
Are there some problems with the mainstream media in this country? Surely. But compared to most countries in the world, the U.S. has a relatively free and robust press made up of thousands and thousands of honest journalists committed to informing the public and reporting the truth.
The fact of the matter is, thanks to the media, Trump's presidency is in trouble less than a month in; this is why he has it out for them. His national security adviser Michael Flynn resigned after it was revealed he lied to the authorities about the extent of his contact with Russian government officials. His pick for labor secretary Andy Puzder withdrew his nomination after a number of shocking revelations about his business and personal life.
Trump has a serious problem with taking criticism and unfortunately for him, this is not the job for that kind of person. The President of the United States will inevitably be the most criticized person in the world, but that just comes with the territory. If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen; or in this case, the White House.
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