Thread by @digiphile

In a statement that could have been issued by Stalin or Mussolini, the President of the United States called journalism “an evil propaganda machine” with “false, biased & evil” reporting. The catalyst? A leaked @NYTimes town hall that debated his racism: pressthink.org/2019/08/bad-he…

Hard to start a Sunday morning with a new low in authoritarian rhetoric from a American President instead of a message of peace, grace, kindness, charity, or love.
Sadly, this what is what unhinged, unchecked, pathological narcissism & anti-social personality disorder looks like.

When a debate at a town hall with the journalists of a newspaper of record focuses on the question of *how* to report on Trump’s well-documented racism: nytimes.com/interactive/20… instead of *if* he is a racist, the jig is up. He knows it. So he attacks the @nytimes’ credibility.

Trump was warned about the global impact of a @potus calling journalists the “enemy of the people” making “fake news.” But he’s doubled down. Today, he called journalism “evil,” contradicting US govt policy on the role of the press in democratic societies: sunlightfoundation.com/2017/03/08/the…

@POTUS “Fake news” is journalism he doesn’t like.
“Enemies” are journalists who expose his lies & corruption.
Both are intentional:
“I want to demean you and discredit you so that when you do negative stories about me, no one will believe you.”-@realDonaldTrump
No @POTUS should do this

I hope @PostBaron or @deanbaquet or @murraymatt or @nicole_carroll understand what Trump is doing, & has done. What it means to have an racist, xenophobic autocrat as president. Their papers’ role is not just reporting on his words, acts & impact, but warning the public of risks.

And I hope that @JoeBiden @BernieSanders @ewarren & other politicians vying for the Democratic nomination understand how important it is to defend the role of the press in democracies. sunlightfoundation.com/2017/05/25/ame… Nuanced critique welcome, but not attack or indictment of “the media.”