Trump labels media ‘the opposition party’ as newspapers push back en masse
US President Donald Trump speaks during a joint press conference with Russia’s President after a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki,
on July 16, 2018. – The US and Russian leaders opened an historic summit in Helsinki, with Donald Trump promising an “extraordinary relationship”
and Vladimir Putin saying it was high time to thrash out disputes around the world.
(Photo by Yuri KADOBNOV / AFP) (Photo credit should read YURI KADOBNOV/AFP/Getty Images) | Yuri Kadobnov/AFP/Getty Images
President Donald Trump lashed out at the media Thursday morning, identifying the “fake news” as “the opposition party” on the same day that hundreds of newspapers nationwide printed editorials critical of the president’s rhetoric towards the media.
“THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA IS THE OPPOSITION PARTY. It is very bad for our Great Country….BUT WE ARE WINNING!” Trump wrote on Twitter Thursday
More than 350 news outlets published editorials Thursday denouncing the president’s threats against the press. The call for the widespread rebuke of the president was spurred by The Boston Globe.
“Journalists are not classified as fellow Americans, but rather ‘The enemy of the people,'” the Boston Globe’s editorial board wrote. “This relentless assault on the free press has dangerous consequences.”
The list of outlets publishing editorials refuting the president’s claim that the press is “the enemy of the people” ranges from big-city newspapers like the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune to smaller ones like the Van Buren County Democrat and the Swift County Monitor-News.
Trump has consistently railed against the media dating back to his presidential campaign, labeling outlets and reporters as “fake news” when they publish reporting critical of him or his administration.
Animosity towards the press from the administration has spiked in recent weeks, marked most notably by the White House denying access to an open press event to a CNN reporter. At Trump’s rallies, news organizations have begun to hire private security to protect their reporters from attendees, who often hurl insults at and heckle the press.
Source:Politico.com