1. I’m angry. I’ve interviewed countless journalists in dictatorships, from Belarus to Thailand, who risk their lives to bring a sliver of truth & accountability to their societies. They are heroes. Trump’s attacks on the press endanger them while endangering our democracy too.
2. At home, Trump is poisoning the electorate against the press—a pillar of democratic governance. Without the press, informed consent of the governed is impossible. Democracy is impossible. Truth becomes malleable. And the people become powerless.
3. “Enemy of the people”; “a stain on America”; a “son of a bitch,” and “fake news.” Endorsing a candidate who assaulted a reporter. Threatening to revoke licenses from critical media outlets & “opening up” libel laws. Trump is mimicking intimidation tactics from dictatorships.
4. I wish Trump supporters who see the press as “the enemy of the people” could see what life is like when there is no free press. I have. It’s awful. And there’s no easy way to revive media freedom—or democracy—once it dies. Trump is taking us down a truly dangerous path.
5. Trump’s attacks on the press at home reverberate abroad. Myanmar called reports on its mass atrocities “fake news.” Dictators feel emboldened to jail or kill journalists. The US has lost all credibility on pressuring other countries to respect media freedom because of Trump.
6. Trump laughed with Duterte of the Philippines about journalists being “spies.” But the Philippines has one of the highest rates of journalists being murdered in the world. I was in Thailand when the dictator “joked”
about executing reporters. It wasn’t a joke. It was a threat.
about executing reporters. It wasn’t a joke. It was a threat.
7. This is not partisan. Republicans should care about the republic. Democrats should care about democracy. We should—and must—agree on this and work to protect the press from Trump’s authoritarian attacks. I’ve seen the alternative. You don’t want to see it too.
