A Little Ditty about Trump’s Assault on the First Amendment
It’s not great.
Back in November, I wrote a piece for The Atlantic outlining my concerns about Trump’s contempt for the press and the erosion of press access. Since then, things have only gotten worse. Trump has only held just one news conference since the election, and it was a one big tent short of a being an actual circus.
His Press Secretary spent yesterday demanding that CNN’s Jim Acosta apologize to Trump for being rude. And Trump continues to lie, attack outlets and individuals that are critical of him, while propping up his in-house propaganda rag, Breitbart News, so they can ask softball questions.
According to Gallup, our trust in the media is at an all time low. Just 32% of Americans said they have confidence in the media to “report the news fully, accurately and fairly.” This makes it difficult for them to fight back. Many Americans think the press is biased, and they view reporters with contempt.
But all Americans need to understand that the fight over press access is about our access to information. If news outlets are locked out of this White House, we’re locked out of this White House. So I’m reposting the piece because I think it’s still relevant, and because I desperately want you to think I’m smart.
