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Donald Trump's conflict with the media

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Donald Trump at the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2017

The major elements of Donald Trump's conflict with the media are his habitual attacks on the news media and journalists, his posts with false and misleading information, and his ban from major social media outlets.

Trump's attacks on the media

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In 2020 the Committee to Protect Journalists published a special report by Leonard Downie Jr. titled "The Trump Administration and the Media".[1] In the very beginning the report stated:

Trump has habitually attacked the news media in rallies, responses to reporters’ questions, and many hundreds of tweets. He has repeatedly called the press “fake news,” “the enemy of the people,” “dishonest,” “corrupt,” “low life reporters,” “bad people,” “human scum” and “some of the worst human beings you’ll ever meet.”[1]
...
More than 600 of Trump’s tweets targeted specific news organizations, led by The New York Times, CNN, NBC and MSNBC, Fox News and The Washington Post. He called the Times, among other slurs, “fake,” “phony,” “nasty,” “disgraced,” “dumb,” “clueless,” “stupid,” “sad,” “failing,” and “dying.” He characterized the Post as “fake,” “crazy,” “dishonest,” “phony,” and “disgraced.”[1]

"Enemy of the people"

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Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
 Twitter logo, a stylized blue bird

The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!

18 February 2017[2]

From his inauguration in January 2017 through October 15, 2019, Trump called the news media the "enemy of the people" 36 times on Twitter.[3]

In 2012, former Democratic pollster Patrick Caddell gave a speech at a conference sponsored by Accuracy in Media, a conservative watchdog group, in which he called the media "the enemy of the American people". The term was promoted by far-right media organization Breitbart News, one of whose major stockholders is Robert Mercer who employed Caddell as a contractor since 2013 and was one of Donald Trump's biggest financial backers.[4] In February 2017, hours after meeting Caddell while touring a Boeing aircraft plant in North Charleston, South Carolina, Trump said on Twitter that The New York Times, NBC News, ABC, CBS, and CNN were "fake news" and "the enemy of the American People".[5] On February 24, he said at the Conservative Political Action Conference, "A few days ago I called the fake news the enemy of the people and they are. They are the enemy of the people."[6][7]

In a June 2018 rally in South Carolina, Trump called journalists "fake newsers" and "the enemy of the people".[8][9] On July 19, following the critical reaction to his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on 15 July 2018 in Helsinki, Finland, Trump tweeted "The Summit with Russia was a great success, except with the real enemy of the people, the Fake News Media." The New York Times noted Trump's use of this phrase during his "moments of peak criticism" and use of the term by Nazi and Soviet propaganda.[10] On August 2, after Trump tweeted "FAKE NEWS media... is the enemy of the American People",[11][12] multiple international institutions such as the United Nations and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights criticized Trump for his attacks on the free press.[13] On August 16, the United States Senate, in a symbolic rebuke to Trump, passed by unanimous consent a resolution affirming that the media is not "the enemy of the people" and reaffirming "the vital and indispensable role the free press serves."[14][15][16]

In August 2019, when journalist Jonathan Karl asked him if he feared that his supporters would interpret this as a justification for violence, Trump replied: "I hope they take my words to heart. I believe the press is the enemy of the people."[17]

In March 2024, Trump, who had previously supported a congressional bill that would ban TikTok in the United States, said he now opposed a ban because it would help Facebook, and that he considered "Facebook to be an enemy of the people, along with a lot of the media".[18][19][20]

Trump's misleading statements

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Main article: False or misleading statements by Donald Trump

Trump's ban by social media

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Main article: Social media use by Donald Trump

After losing the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden, Trump persistently undermined the election results in the weeks leading to Biden's inauguration.[21][22] His tweets played a role in inciting the January 6, 2021, attack of the US Capitol during the formal counting of electoral votes.[23] Though the Senate eventually acquitted Trump during his second impeachment, social media companies swiftly banned him. Facebook and Instagram banned him for two years.[24][25][26][27] Twitter permanently suspended his @realDonaldTrump handle, followed by the official account of his campaign (@TeamTrump)[28][29] and the accounts of allies who posted on his behalf, like Trump campaign digital director Gary Coby.[30] Twitter also deleted three tweets by Trump on the @POTUS handle[31] and barred access to the presidential account until Joe Biden's inauguration. During the first week that Trump was banned on several platforms (January 9–15), election-related misinformation declined 73 percent, according to research analytics firm Zignal Labs.[32]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Leonard Downie Jr. The Trump Administration and the Media
  2. ^ Donald J. Trump [@realDonaldTrump] (18 February 2017). "The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. ^ Michael D. Shear, Maggie Haberman, Nicholas Confessore, Karen Yourish, Larry Buchanan and Keith Collins, How Trump Reshaped the Presidency in Over 11,000 Tweets, The New York Times (2 November 2019).
  4. ^ "The Reclusive Hedge-Fund Tycoon Behind the Trump Presidency". The New Yorker. 2017-03-17. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  5. ^ Erickson, Amanda (February 18, 2017). "Trump called the news media an 'enemy of the American People'. Here's a history of the term". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  6. ^ Shuham, Matt (24 February 2017). "Trump: 'Enemy Of The People' Media Makes Up Anonymous Sources". Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  7. ^ Higgins, Andrew (26 February 2017) "Trump Embraces ‘Enemy of the People,’ a Phrase With a Fraught History" The New York Times
  8. ^ Jonathan Chait (25 June 2018). "Trump compares his propaganda to North Korea's at Bizarre South Carolina rally". New York. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  9. ^ Baynes, Chris (29 June 2018). "Maryland shooting: Trump ducks questions over Capital Gazette killings, as president's attacks on journalists come into focus". The Independent. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  10. ^ Davis, William P. (20 July 2018). "'Enemy of the People': Trump Breaks Out This Phrase During Moments of Peak Criticism". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  11. ^ "Trump declares 'fake news' media 'the enemy of the American people'". USA Today.
  12. ^ Katie Rogers (2 August 2018). "Are Journalists the Enemy of the People? Ivanka Trump Says They're Not". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  13. ^ Michael M. Grynbaum (2 August 2018). "CNN's Jim Acosta Challenges Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Then Makes a Quick Exit". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  14. ^ Reiss, Jaclyn (16 August 2018) "US Senate unanimously passes resolution affirming the press ‘is not the enemy of the people’" Boston Globe
  15. ^ 2018 Congressional Record, Vol. 164, Page S5681 (16 August 2018)
  16. ^ S.Res.607 – A resolution reaffirming the vital and indispensable role the free press serves., 115th Congress (2017–2018), Congress.gov.
  17. ^ Moye, David (November 13, 2023). "Trump Told ABC Reporter He Hopes Fans Act On His Fiery Rhetoric". HuffPost. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  18. ^ Rosen, Jacob (March 11, 2024). "Trump, in reversal, opposes TikTok ban, calls Facebook "enemy of the people"". CBS News. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  19. ^ Egan, Matt (March 11, 2024). "Trump calls Facebook the enemy of the people. Meta's stock sinks". CNN. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  20. ^ Concepcion, Summer; Traylor, Jake (March 11, 2024). "Trump says TikTok is a national security threat, Facebook is 'enemy of the people'". NBC News. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  21. ^ Nate Rattner (January 13, 2021). "Trump's election lies were among his most popular tweets". CNBC. Archived from the original on February 23, 2021. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  22. ^ Spangler, Todd (November 27, 2020). "Twitter Has Flagged 200 of Trump's Posts as 'Disputed' or Misleading Since Election Day. Does It Make a Difference?". Variety. Archived from the original on February 17, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  23. ^ Rodriguez, Salvador (January 6, 2021). "Twitter locks Trump's account following video addressing Washington rioters". CNBC. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  24. ^ Clayton, James; Kelion, Leo; Molloy, David (January 7, 2021). "Facebook blocks Trump 'at least until transition complete'". BBC News. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  25. ^ Heilweil, Rebecca (June 4, 2021). "What Facebook's two-year Trump ban does and doesn't do". Vox. Archived from the original on July 28, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  26. ^ "In Response to Oversight Board, Trump Suspended for Two Years; Will Only Be Reinstated if Conditions Permit". About Facebook. June 4, 2021. Archived from the original on September 21, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  27. ^ Duffy, Clare (25 January 2023). "Meta says it will restore Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts". Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  28. ^ "Permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump". blog.twitter.com. Twitter. January 8, 2021. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  29. ^ Collins, Ben; Zadrozny, Brandy (January 8, 2021). "Twitter permanently suspends President Donald Trump". NBC News. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  30. ^ Lonas, Lexi (January 9, 2021). "Twitter bans accounts for Trump campaign, digital director". The Hill. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  31. ^ "Twitter deletes new Trump tweets on @POTUS, suspends campaign account". Reuters. January 9, 2021. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  32. ^ Dwoskin, Elizabeth; Timberg, Craig (January 16, 2021). "Misinformation dropped dramatically the week after Twitter banned Trump and some allies". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 12, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2021.

Further reading

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  • Pablo J. Boczkowski, Zizi Papacharissi eds. (2018) Trump and the Media
  • Catherine Happer, Andrew Hoskins, William Merrin eds. · 2018 Trump’s Media War
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