On Tuesday morning, I spent some time cleaning out my Gmail account and found myself feeling a certain nostalgia for emails dated before the debate and before Monday's Supreme Court decision. Someone at MSNBC echoed my sentiments, saying the world right now feels like listening to music on the Titanic while waiting for it to sink. That's how serious things are. The unthinkable is happening.
One of the things I've been most concerned about for a while now is what would happen to the press if Trump were to become president again. I can't imagine that anyone would be brave enough to report anything negative. We've heard the message that Trump would seek retribution from the press.
As CNN reported in December,
President Trump has consistently and slyly referred to domestic journalists as the “enemy of the people,” and his alarming rhetoric against journalists has been echoed by some of his key allies, suggesting that his promises of revenge are not the ravings of a madman but an actual course of action the Republican presidential nominee would take if he were to regain power again.
In one particularly disturbing conversation this week, President Trump's former top political strategist Steve Bannon and former National Security Council adviser Kash Patel Publicly discussed plans Bannon said such a promise was “to target the press.” “It's not just rhetoric.” And they “I'm completely serious.” Speaking of revenge against journalists, Patel was asked if she could “get things done” as she would likely take on a leadership role in a second Trump administration. Patel answered in the affirmative, asserting that a re-empowered Trump would indeed “go after” the press.
-Cut it into pieces-
“I say frankly and proudly that if I win the election for president of the United States, they and the rest of the lamestream media will be thoroughly scrutinized for their deliberately dishonest and corrupt reporting about people, things and events,” Trump declared in September, adding that he believed news organizations that allegedly hurt the country “should pay a heavy price.”
Last month, The Washington Post reported on the peril the media would face if Trump were re-elected, stating that freedom of the press was at great risk.
“Mr. Trump will do everything he can to restrict media access to the White House and executive branch.” [Bruce] brown, [executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press] He also worries about a Trump-inspired rise in defamation lawsuits against news organizations, an IRS overhaul of the tax-exempt status of nonprofit news organizations, renewed Department of Justice investigations of reporters and news organizations, and federal pressure whenever there's a major change in media ownership.
If Trump is re-elected, the Justice Department could punish journalists who refuse to reveal confidential sources or even prosecute them under the Espionage Act for reporting classified information.
The IRS could audit journalists' taxes and revoke the tax-exempt status of a growing number of nonprofit national, regional and local news organizations. The Federal Trade Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission and FCC could investigate news media owners.
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