Donald Trump escalates his war against the free press

| 12:00 pm EDT October 20, 2018
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For a man who loves to have all cameras on him, Donald Trump seems to not understand that people remember what he says from day to day. Last week, the Republican and Fox News talking points all focused on the “left wing mob.” This week Trump preached to his own mob, and reminiscent of the “lock her up” crowd, they laughed as Donald Trump cheered the assault on a reporter.

Let’s not confuse this for the murder of the Washington Post reporter who was killed in the Saudi consulate, which Donald Trump is trying to help cover up. This disgusting comment was in reference to an attack in 2017 by Montana Republican, Greg Gianforte. Apparently, any guy who can do a body slam is Trump’s kind of guy. It seems to be open season on the press, and it is Donald Trump putting out the word that hunting season is open. The hypocrisy is awe inspiring in measure. “The Democrats are the angry mob,” says the man who supports chants of locking up his political rivals, body slamming members of the press because they are vehicles of the First Amendment, and covering up the murder of a journalist because it suits him to do so.

So where are we now as a nation? If we continue to move in this direction, and the midterms do not result in a check on the powers of Donald Trump, it will be open season on the press around the world. As Donald Trump’s rhetoric echoes that of 1930’s Germany, calling the press the enemy of the people, the world is listening. It is reasonable to fear that the murder of Jamal Khashoggi may end up being merely the first of its kind. Trump rallies are infamous for anti-CNN chants, as Trump calls the reporters liars. Trump’s war with the press parallels his war with the truth.

It was only a matter of time before Donald Trump’s words manifested into violence abroad, and abuses at home. Attempts to ban certain reporters from briefings have been ongoing since the beginning of the Trump regime. As Trump gets angrier and angrier over the negative coverage, he will attempt to chip away at our First Amendment rights. The Brennan Center for Justice reports that Trump is seeking to add a “protest tax” for demonstrations, in addition to blocking off 80% of the White House sidewalk to demonstrations. The people’s House is under siege by a wannabe dictator. Who said it could never happen here?