
When President Donald Trump tweeted on Monday that the legacy media would be forced to cover Americas improving economy, reporters in the establishment press freaked out, implying that Trump would strong-arm them into doing so while ushering in an authoritarian regime.
Trump tweeted: At some point the Fake News will be forced to discuss our great jobs numbers, strong economy, success with ISIS, the border & so much else!
At some point the Fake News will be forced to discuss our great jobs numbers, strong economy, success with ISIS, the border & so much else!
Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 3, 2017
NBCs Katy Tur oh-so-seriously and ominously asked on-air what Trump meant by forced. Talking Points Memo asked, Trump declares the press will be forced to cover his achievements. What First Amendment?
Trump declares the press will be "forced" to cover his achievements. What First Amendment? https://t.co/3cXvcV63ju pic.twitter.com/J1mOUF4TSs
Talking Points Memo (@TPM) July 3, 2017
A contributor to the New York Times and New Republic wrote, Interesting choice by Trump to use the word forced the day after sharing his fantasy of assaulting a news network. An NBC News editor emphasized Trumps use of the words will be forced to.
Interesting choice by Trump to use the word "forced" the day after sharing his fantasy of assaulting a news network. https://t.co/ql65wgAwT9
Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) July 3, 2017
Later in the day, though he did not specifically mention or refer to the tweet, NBCs Chuck Todd spoke generally about Trumps dehumanizing tweets.
If these actions and this language was being used by a leader in a different country, our State Department not just we in general would be saying Hmm, that country is inching towards authoritarianism, Todd said. Because thats usually the first sign: when you try to delegitimize a free press.
What the optimistic Trump clearly meant was that the economy will boom so much under his presidency that it will be nearly impossible for the legacy press to ignore the good news.
Anyone living outside of the legacy medias insular bubbles understood what Trump meant.
This is yet another example of why nearly 70% of Americans, according to the most recent Marist/NPR poll, do no trust the media, answering not very much or not at all when asked whether they trusted the press.
#1: Justified To: cranky (#0)
Thank you President Trump for not being another Obummer style president of hate America for kicking butt and not feeling sorry for success!
Justified posted on 2017-07-05 09:09:08 Reply Private Reply
#2: cranky To: Justified (#1)
Even when they have to make them up out of whole cloth.
They have absolutely no shame (or ethics, talent, honor , integrity, etc).
cranky posted on 2017-07-05 09:17:55 Reply Private Reply
#3: misterwhite To: cranky (#0)
Wait until we regulate you under the first amendment the same way guns are regulated under the second.
misterwhite posted on 2017-07-05 09:39:04 Reply Private Reply
#4: cranky To: misterwhite (#3)
Never going to happen.
If demographics truly are destiny, the damage has already been done and it is irreparable.
imho.
cranky posted on 2017-07-05 09:53:19 Reply Private Reply
#5: Tooconservative To: cranky (#0)
Forced? It's like he is planning to rape them all by announcing good news for America.
I feel triggered. This is a micro-aggression, maybe even a macro-aggression.
This "forced" business sounds very very rapey.
Tooconservative posted on 2017-07-05 11:38:16 Reply Private Reply
#6: Anthem To: cranky (#0)
I generally disregard polls even if what I believe is shown to be in the majority, as most are push-polls. Occasionally they run an honest one, just as there must be some meat on the cat in the pork bag.
I had to smile at my misreading of the above sentence. My mind first saw it as "Marxist/NPR poll".
Anthem posted on 2017-07-05 14:04:19 Reply Private Reply