Trump slams ‘illegal’ MSNBC, CNN in self-victimizing rant
President Donald Trump criticized news outlets CNN and MSNBC for corruption. The president accused both networks of being “political arms of the Democrat Party” for producing critical content directed at him.
“I believe that CNN and MSNBC, who literally write 97.6% bad about me, are political arms of the Democrat Party,” Trump said in a press conference. This comment went beyond criticizing the press for their scrutiny. “In my opinion, they’re really corrupt and illegal. What they do is illegal,” Trump continued.
“The networks and these newspapers are really no different from a highly paid political operative, and it has to stop,” Trump concluded after dissecting his percieved transgressions of the media. He further complained that MSNBC and CNN are “going after him.” Essentially, the president implies that he wants to make criticizing him “illegal.” It’s just an opinion, but it bodes terribly from someone dubbed the chief executive of the country.
Social media users were rather upset by Trump’s statements. One user on X wrote, “This is what fascism looks like.” It’s accusatory against Trump, but other authoritarian-leaning states suppress the freedom of speech and the press. In Russia, Vladimir Putin has criminalized alleged “false information” about the military. Just like Trump’s proposal, Russia brands these journalists and news outlets as “foreign agents.”
Another social media commenter said, “Everyone who disagrees with me is illegal”—Donald” Trump, paraphrased.” Others called the president a “dictator,” a “wannabe king,” and a “madman” for his autocratic remarks. While offensive to Trump, these remarks are completely legal under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Similarly, Trump’s dissidents in the media have also been given the right by the Constitution to criticize him. What the mandate prohibits, however, is the creation of laws that abridge the free press. Ironically, what the president advocates for is as harmful as it is unconstitutional.
Trump has a history of attacking the media
While Fox News largely remains unscathed, other outlets that dare oppose the president are often accused of peddling false information. As Trump describes them in his social media rants, those who criticize him belong to the “fake news media.” He has been railing against the media since his first term in the White House. It’s no surprise that Trump has yet again attacked oppositional media in his second term as president.
During his first two months in office, the Trump administration blocked the Associated Press from White House events. This was after the media outlet refused to call the “Gulf of Mexico” Trump’s alternative, the “Gulf of America.” It’s safe to assume that Trump will continue to slam anyone – or anything – that doesn’t agree with him or give him endless praise.
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