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There’s another Battle Royale brewing between President Trump and the press. The only thing is that this time Trump demanded that a reporter be fired.
Dave Weigel of the Washington Post tweeted an incorrect picture of the size of Trump’s Pensacola rally. And, naturally, the President jumped into Twitter action of his own, blasting Weigel and shouting FAKE NEWS IN CAPS!
.@DaveWeigel @WashingtonPost put out a phony photo of an empty arena hours before I arrived @ the venue, w/ thousands of people outside, on their way in. Real photos now shown as I spoke. Packed house, many people unable to get in. Demand apology & retraction from FAKE NEWS WaPo! pic.twitter.com/XAblFGh1ob
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 9, 2017
Weigel did not fire back. Instead he deleted the tweet. He also apologized to the President, claiming that the political reporter at the UK Daily Mail told him of his error.
Sure thing: I apologize. I deleted the photo after @dmartosko told me I'd gotten it wrong. Was confused by the image of you walking in the bottom right corner. https://t.co/fQY7GMNSaD
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) December 9, 2017
Sounds appropriate, right? Well, a certain President just can’t Let. It. Go.
No, Trump doesn’t want just an apology. He wants the WaPo to fire Weigel.
.@daveweigel of the Washington Post just admitted that his picture was a FAKE (fraud?) showing an almost empty arena last night for my speech in Pensacola when, in fact, he knew the arena was packed (as shown also on T.V.). FAKE NEWS, he should be fired.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 9, 2017
Now let’s be realistic here. The Washington Post is not going to fire Weigel. If anything, Trump’s tweet will just galvanize the media to dig their heels in, as it did CNN’s Brian Stelter. He claimed that Trump was inviting his followers to ‘gang up’ on reporters.
By including Dave Weigel’s @ handle, the president’s statement is inviting followers to gang up on a reporter https://t.co/3C5jKDvFP5
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) December 9, 2017
No doubt Trump should spank the press. After all, they’ve been playing pretty loose with facts about his administration, from Brian Ross’s outright lie about General Flynn to Donald Trump Jr.’s alleged Wikileaks connection. They even tried to make hay out of the death of Vice President’s Pence’s cat, for crying out loud.
However, the President didn’t just criticize the press, he wants a newspaper to sack its reporter, even after that reporter apologized and retracted his tweet. And that’s a whole other ball game, and it’s also very wrong.
Oh, yeah, it’s what some in his loyal base want. It revs them up, thrilling them to see the former “Apprentice” boss kick the press in the balls. No doubt they’d love to see Weigel get his walking papers, courtesy of President Trump.
But that’s not how this works.
You know what kind of leader silences reporters he doesn’t like? A tyrant.
Now let me make this clear. I am not claiming that President Trump is a tyrant. Let me say that again: President Trump is not a tyrant. He is, however, a petty man who seems to be ignorant that the Constitution guarantees freedom of the press, whether he likes them or not.
But history does show that despots have a particular fondness for crushing journalists. For example, take the shameful history of the Soviet Union. Or China under the thumb of Mao Zedong. And even now, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is clamping down on the media in that beleaguered country.
That’s not how a free nation functions.
So why should any American cheer when President Trump tries to bully a newspaper into firing a reporter? No American should. Even if Trump causes Weigel to lose his job, and it fills you with glee, it just might come back to bite you in the ass. Because this nation will not always have a Republican at the helm, and when the Democrats take the reins once again, should that President be able to have a reporter fired that he doesn’t like? Moreover, were you pleased to see President Obama’s Justice Department investigate Fox News’s James Rosen for gathering news that displeased Obama?
Works both ways, doesn’t it?
Instead, President Trump should take cues from a former Republican president who also had to deal with a hostile press. Here’s how President Ronald Reagan twice deflected aggressive reporters who hammered him on Iran-Contra by using humor and good cheer:
But Trump is not Reagan, and sadly he never will be. And while Trump’s criticisms of the press are perfectly appropriate, demanding the job of a reporter who displeases him is not. After all, that’s not what the Founders had in mind.
CSS says: Just a minor correction in your “over the top” headline, Trump “demanded” an apology, he, in a later tweet, suggested the reporter be fired. Or, at least that’s what the tweets you include indicate. I expect the MSM to use misleading headlines, not Victory Girls.
Kim Quade says: When the most powerful man in the nation says that a reporter “should be” fired it carries a lot more weight than just a friendly suggestion. Sorry, not buying it.
CSS says: Buy it or not, your headline is inaccurate and, might I add, a bit hyperbolic. President Trump obviously has no problem “demanding” things, such as an apology. I’m just tired of the breathless headlines, so common in the MSM, that are not borne out by the facts contained in the article. You can spin it however you wish.
I have to disagree with you on some of what you wrote. Speaking of ‘working both ways’ if I remember correctly the President has the right to free speech just like anyone who is entitled to 1st amendment protections. The “tyrant” you so eloquently denied Trump is, I believe would fit to a ruler who wouldn’t ‘suggest’ a reporter be fired, he’s have him disappear and we’d never know what happened. Gone are the days when reporters actually sought out the truth and reported it as such; damn shame. Personally, I don’t feel that the ‘freedom of the press’ entitles them to constantly put out false or better yet ‘fake news.’ I believe the media should even hold themselves to a slightly higher standard. Granted it seems petty of President Trump. Yet I can’t help but defend his frustration at the 24/7 bashing of him and his family and his policies.
Hoping the gals at Victory Girls have a great Christmas holiday.
Kim Quade says: Thank you!
Sam says: I couldn’t agree more, with the exception that he is a “petty” man. Seems to me this “petty” man has done pretty good for himself. He has also done pretty good for the American people so far. You may not like his personality, or how he is re-defining the presidency. I say it’s about time.
Peanut says: Pure hyperbole. Victory girls click bait. For shame.
Kate says: Hi Peanut
We’re glad you’re here. Just a clarification, there is no “shame” or “clickbait” here at Victory Girls. If you have a point of debate, or a more substantive comment, we very much welcome it — even if it’s disagreeing with this writer’s POV. If not, you’re just trolling.
Merle says: Frankly I don’t see a problem – the Left is never ending in heir demand that Trump be impeached – or resign.
Merle
Uncle Max says: I have zero problem with fighting back. We’re in the 11 month of a coup attempt. For the first time since 1860, the Democrats have decided the whole peaceful change of power is so twentieth century. Time have changed. The press and reporters have decided they are arbiters of what is news, how to spin it, and have open agendas. Nope, the game is rigged and we are living in extraordinary times. The only way to combat this is aggressively and fire with fire. It’s working btw…
Johnny says: Trump is entitled to his opinion.
After the inauguration incident of course this sort of thing is a sore spot.
Let it go indeed.
That means everyone.
SFC D says: The President has the right to express his opinion, and we have the right to disagree. That’s how this really works. Was his reaction petty? I’d say yes, and also say many of his reactions are. They’re also honest, and I like that even if I disagree with his reactions. He can say that anyone should be fired. There’s absolutely no legal obligation for them to actually be fired, no more than if you or I say it.
GWB says: He is, however, a petty man who seems to be ignorant that the Constitution guarantees freedom of the press, whether he likes them or not.
No, he’s not ignorant of the First Amendment. He has no power to enforce his desire, and he wasn’t even speaking from an official gov’t platform.
“The press” is not a special class of people protected from the criticism of anyone in authority.
Sorry, but you’re wrong on this one.
GWB says: Also, if it weren’t for the courts (and occasionally, actual laws) requiring a higher level of proof for celebrities, asking to have a reporter fired for slander is hardly a constitutional offense. False stories are generally not included under First Amendment protections (nor is fraud).
I think Trump would have been better served by being gracious once the man apologized, rather than antagonistic. But that is not the same thing as questionable constitutionality.
Kim Quade says: No, he may not have technical power to enforce the firing of a journalist. But ask Sharyl Attkisson and James Rosen about their experiences with the Obama DOJ. And while I’m quite sure that nothing will come of the Trump tweet, there has been precedence with the previous administration attempting to destroy the careers of journalists they didn’t like.
Being cautious about the speech rights of those in the press we don’t agree with does not constitute special rights.
GWB says: And a tweet is absolutely nothing to do with what the DOJ did. (And not everything they did to journalists was wrong – being a journalist doesn’t/shouldn’t protect you from proper investigation/prosecution.)
You can’t demand he not practice his own right of speech because he MIGHT cross the line into actual abuse. It’s a RIGHT. Or, would you say that veteran down the street can’t buy a gun because he complains a lot about his neighbors and MIGHT snap some day?
Sam says: Kim, you say that Trump should take cues from former President Reagan as to how to deal with the press. Unfortunately, the Reagan revolution lasted only as long as President Reagan. Trump has a MUCH more complicated task dealing with the media of today than Reagan ever did. Should we let the media browbeat Trump, and the rest of us by extension, into submission again, like what happened after Reagan? Personally, I am hoping for a much longer-lived diversion from Marxist/Socialist government than what Reagan’s presidency provided.
Also, the “reporter” that should be fired is no reporter at all. They are Democrat operatives. If they were really reporters, I would agree with you. But the Marxist/Socialists have declared war on us, and it is not appropriate to roll over and play dead. It’s been happening that way for far too long.
GTB says: So, when POTUS says that maybe Russia shouldn’t be invading another country, they should listen to him? Or when he says that slavery shouldn’t exist, and then demand that people that shouldn’t do it? He can demand a lot…he just can’t actually do it. Big difference. As I said before, as goes to you ladies, if you don’t want to labeled fake news, than that go ahead and print fake news. PS. I don’t hear you guys demanding that “reporters” who push fake news should be fired….
Roger Wilco says: I initially thought Trump’s tweets were inappropriate as they were not in conformance with the expected mores of the office. But after considering the success his predecessors had with playing nice (we’re playing chess while they’re playing hockey and look what happened to all of our nice ivory pieces), and the not particularly sub rosa hostility of the hockey players, I think Trump is doing what is necessary and in no way careless. He continually baits the opposition (Democrats, news media, etc.) to have them show with a blinding clarity that even the most willfully blind (some of us) can not easily ignore or rationalize away. So we are forced, some very unwillingly, to accept the true nature of the creatures that they are. Bait on Donald.
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