In recent weeks, former President Donald Trump has ramped up his misogynistic personal attacks on female journalists. His incendiary posturing and broader efforts to erode trust in and delegitimize the country’s most important news sources have been especially explosive. His administration recently launched a webpage that accuses prominent media organizations of bias, an initiative that coincides with his ongoing legal battles against some of these outlets.
In a series of social media posts, Trump has accused Democrats of “seditious behavior, punishable by death,” a claim that has raised eyebrows among political observers. This incendiary statement serves his overall narrative, and his motives, radically. Further, he goes after what he calls the “fake news,” directly naming outlets such as the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.
Trump’s extremely irresponsible and frankly un-American hostility to the press is probably best seen through the prism of his personal attacks on specific journalists. He even called a New York Times foreign correspondent “a third-rate reporter who is ugly, both inside and out.” He similarly kicked out an ABC News White House correspondent, calling her “a very bad person.” Those comments have ignited a firestorm of conversation over how we treat women in the world of journalism. This discussion is particularly timely given the continued escalation of hostility from public figures.
The Trump administration has recently opened the door a little ways on a new bodega. It includes an “Offender Hall of Shame,” where they declare the Associated Press, CBS News, CNN, MSNBC, and others to be purveyors of misinformation. Democrats and the Fake News Media were really implying President Trump was giving illegal orders to service members. Their intention with these insinuations is to ruin his credibility. I’m not arguing that every order President Trump has issued—endless war—has been unlawful.
It remains to be seen where Trump’s war on the media will lead him next. He took the $92 million and used it to file lawsuits against the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. He’s settled with ABC and CBS. Taken together, these actions are indicative of the president’s long-standing desire to combat narratives he views as harmful.
In light of these new reporting, an editor’s note accompanying the original Washington Post reporting citation defended their coverage as follows.
“The Washington Post is proud of its accurate, rigorous journalism.” – A Washington Post spokesperson
As Trump navigates these contentious interactions with the media, his historical pattern of calling major news outlets “fake news” persists. The backlash against his comments on Democrats along with allegations of seditious behavior add another layer of controversy to his press relations – or lack thereof.