Free press a key part of authentic democracy
Freedom of the press is so important to democracy in America that President Donald Trump has ordered it must be safeguarded and carefully rationed out to the American people.
And to ensure that Americans can be confident that Trump’s policies to restore the United States to its former political and economic international dominance are assured, it’s imperative the sectors of the press and media in the U.S. that, according to Trump, deliberately misrepresent his goals be excluded from some White House news conferences.
By no accident, among those excluded from one news briefing were the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and CNN television network, whom Trump has repeatedly denounced for allegedly being biased against his policies.
The White House decision to exclude journalists from a press briefing, where they could theoretically raise timely and pertinent questions regarding Trump’s policies, reduced the possibility his staff would have to contend with unwanted questions regarding his increasingly controversial policies.
Whether the remaining reporters at such briefings, including those representing international media outlets, will play the restricted role expected of them remains to be determined. (Even a Jewish journalist, who asked Trump at a recent press conference to comment on reports of increased antiSemitism breaking out in the U.S., was angrily rebuked by Trump for raising such a question.)
Interestingly, in December, before Trump assumed office, Sean Spicer, Trump’s press chief, stated that banning the free press would be antidemocratic, an action he described as something dictators do.
During an address on Feb. 21, former admiral and navy SEAL commander William McRaven denounced Trump’s characterization of the American media as “the enemy of the American people.”
He called Trump’s statement the “greatest threat to democracy” he had ever seen.
While many Americans might be shocked by Trump’s most recent move against journalists, his actions will come as no surprise to those familiar with his mixed relations with journalists.
Contrary to his ongoing diatribes against the American press and media as fabricating fake news, he has always been obsessed by the media, frequently using it as the primary source of facts he comments on.
Trump obviously believes the current relatively open-minded American media represent an unwanted challenge and danger to his own interests, inconveniently undermining and even potentially threatening his ability to influence American society to support his views and contentious policies.
It’s thus not surprising Trump, like other leaders in the past from the right and the left, whether in the U.S. or abroad, has regarded the media amongst the most serious threats to his hold on power, undermining his ability to impose his own narrow views of how society should be governed. And equally importantly, who should ultimately be the main beneficiaries of the policies he proposes.
An indication of where Trump is intent on taking the American people was partially glimpsed by his recent address to American governors. Trump emphasized his intention to make the U.S. great again is a top priority.
He wants Congress to increase the American defence budget by 10 per cent, escalating it to a whopping $548 billion US. Foreign aid and environmental expenditures will be decreased. The budget of the State Department, which Trump loathes, would be drastically cut.
The planned cuts to environmental protection would have important consequences for Canada’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions and the threat posed by global climate change.
One important tool to reduce opposition to Trump’s controversial policies and planned budgetary actions will be Trump’s systematic actions to undercut the American media. This attempt to discredit journalism in the U.S. will likely become even more relentless in coming days.
Interestingly, in a recent interview, former president George W. Bush indirectly criticized Trump’s condemnation of the press, saying: “I consider the media to be indispensable to democracy.”
At a time when Americans are strongly divided over Trump’s policies and what they mean for democracy, the continued existence of a truly independent and responsible free press is essential for ensuring the future of authentic democracy in the U.S.