President Trump Determined to Quash First Amendment

Trump
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Trump

Americans know President Trump despises the press. His hatred is demonstrated in his daily pursuit of doing everything he can to bypass the First Amendment.

Since before his inauguration, he began his onslaught of constant berating and belittling of reporters and news organizations. When he is shown in a negative light Trump cries foul play.

While he did not coin the phrase fake news, he certainly brought it to the forefront of daily conversation.

Unfortunately, the president’s careless language, his constant barrage of Twitter posts, and general misconduct give reporters plenty to write. Moreover, they catch him in his lies.

In September 2018, The Washington Post published an article stating the tally of Trumps’s lies amounted to over 5,000. On the 7th:

In that single day, he publicly made 125 false or misleading statements — in a period of time that totaled only about 120 minutes. It was a new single-day high.

TrumpHe is a publicity hound. What would he do if the journalists ignored him or if his photo was not plastered across front pages around the world? Because Trump is a narcissist, most think he would do something drastic to regain the center spotlight.

Trump’s ignorance of the United States Constitution is baffling. During his campaign, he produced a pocket version of the document as proof of knowing. Those close to him report he refuses to read long documents and requests bullet-pointed ones instead. After he took office in January 2017 his reluctance to read documents was first documented in the news.

In David Wolff’s book, “Fire and Fury,” he wrote that the president’s reluctance to read needed further examination:

He didn’t process information in any conventional sense, He didn’t read. He didn’t really even skim. Some believed that for all practical purposes he was no more than semi-­literate.

The Commander in Chief talks about the Bible and the Constitution as though he is familiar with their content, yet his actions display his lack of knowledge. He told reporters he has not read any of the former-presidents’ biographies, and, again, he pretends to know everything about them.

His most recent conflict with the press was after the midterm elections. During the press conference, Trump’s responses to the questions were often off-topic. When pushed to respond, he dismissed the reporter. His typical response was to tell them, “That’s all for you. Next,” pointing his finger to whomever he wanted to hear from next.

CNN’s chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, refused to quit asking. He wanted a clear answer from the president, not the rambling evasiveness. When Acosta was rudely dismissed, he continued trying to have Trump commit to an answer.

When Acosta continued to probe, a White House intern attempted to take the mic out of his hand. He refused and was later accused by White House Press Secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, of assaulting the intern. They revoked his access to press briefings and conferences.

Trump was stopped cold when CNN’s legal team went to court. They claimed the White House violated the First and Fifth Amendments; restricting the freedom of the press, and the guarantee of due process. This ruling gave the president a 14-day temporary restraining order. He had to allow Acosta to return.

TrumpNot to be outdone by a judge the president boldly stated he would rescind Acosta’s pass at the end of the restraining order. CNN filed again seeking an emergency hearing. The same day, the White House announced Acosta would keep his credentials.

One would think Trump learned he is not stronger than the U.S. Constitution after the Acosta affair, but no. His team came up with three rules, which will assure they can dismiss whoever they deem impolite. Their rules do not allow for the normal give and take between a journalist and his interviewee.

This essentially cuts through the First Amendment’s guarantee that the government will make no law against a free press. It is the press’ role to ask questions until they have enough information to give citizens the information to be self-governing.

Written by Cathy Milne-Ware

Sources:

The Washington Post: CNN seeks emergency court hearing after White House promises revocation of Acosta’s credentials again
The Atlantic: White House backs down from legal fight, restores Jim Acosta’s press pass
The Washington Post: Donald Trump doesn’t read much. Being president probably wouldn’t change that.
The Atlantic: The President Who Doesn’t Read
Vogue Magazine: The 25 Worst Lies From Donald Trump’s First 200 Days
The Washington Post: President Trump has made more than 5,000 false or misleading claims

Featured Image Courtesy of Darron Birgenheier’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Top Image Courtesy of Gage Skidmore’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
First Inset Image Courtesy of florian.b’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Second Inset Image Courtesy of Geralt’s Pixabay Page – Creative Commons License

Share:

Send Us A Message