As Election Day 2024 approaches, Donald Trump seems just as keen to target the free press as he is to criticize Kamala Harris. The Republican has labeled journalists as “the enemy of the people,” described media outlets as “evil,” and referred to news professionals as “scum.”
However, this hostility is not merely verbal. As many readers may remember, Trump made it clear that he intended to use governmental authority to suppress journalism he disapproves of. He devoted considerable attention to the idea of the FCC revoking broadcast licenses from TV networks that aired unfavorable coverage. We witnessed instances of such abuses during his first term, making it reasonable to expect that these tactics would escalate in a potential second term.
In this context, The Associated Press reported:
President Donald Trump launched a scathing attack on “60 Minutes” shortly after the CBS newsmagazine aired segments about Ukraine and Greenland on Sunday, claiming the network had lost control and should “pay a big price” for its coverage. “Almost every week, 60 Minutes … mentions the name ‘TRUMP’ in a derogatory and defamatory manner, but this Weekend’s ‘BROADCAST’ tops them all,” he expressed on his Truth Social platform. He urged Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr to impose maximum penalties for their “unlawful and illegal behavior.”
Under any reasonable metric, the president’s outburst online was absurd. It began with an accusation that “60 Minutes” had deceptively edited an interview with Harris—claims that have been thoroughly debunked, despite his ongoing civil suit against CBS—followed by an even more extreme response.
In a lengthy 243-word tirade, the Republican charged the news program with “fraud,” airing “defamatory” segments, “illegally” interfering in the last presidential election, and “corruptly altering major answers to interview questions,” asserting that it functions as a “Political Operative” engaged in “unlawful and illegal behavior.”
Staying true to his pattern, the president stated that CBS “should lose” its broadcast license and “pay a big price,” while demanding the FCC to “impose the maximum fines and punishment.”
From a factual standpoint, there was nothing improper about the segments in question, one of which dealt with Trump’s attempt to acquire Greenland, while the other focused on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The president may not have appreciated the coverage, but labeling journalism that contradicts the desires of those in power as “unlawful and illegal behavior” borders on authoritarianism.
However, the troubling nature of the Republican’s assault on CBS and “60 Minutes” expands when viewed as part of a broader trend.
In fact, Trump’s recent push to deny a news outlet its broadcast access aligns with his legal battle against the Associated Press over its use of the Gulf of Mexico name. Furthermore, the Trump administration has taken steps to control press pools, ensuring only favorable questions are posed, and has scrutinized the seating arrangements in press briefings.
Recently, the president made statements at the Justice Department declaring that news coverage from UJ and MSNBC (my employer) “is illegal.” He expressed similar sentiments regarding certain newspapers, suggesting their reporting “has to be illegal” and “must stop.”
This follows Trump’s repeated assertions that MSNBC represents “a threat to democracy.”
Those who take the First Amendment’s press freedoms for granted must acknowledge that Trump is pursuing a level of suppression of journalism that is unprecedented in any modern democracy.
