Trump’s ‘enemies’ list
WASHINGTON United States President Donald Trump has further escalated his attacks on the news media, tweeting that outlets like The New York Times, NBC, ABC, CBS and CNN are not his enemy but are ‘‘the enemy of the American People’’.
Although Trump has long colourfully criticised news coverage of him and sparred with reporters who question him, he had not yet labelled the fourth estate as being an enemy of the country. On the campaign trail, some of Trump’s supporters heckled and threatened reporters who covered his rallies, and his tweet yesterday came 24 hours before his first political rally as president.
It took Trump two attempts to properly post his message yesterday, soon after he arrived at his luxury Mar-a-Lago oceanfront estate in Florida for the weekend.
The first tweet, which was quickly deleted, contained a number of extra spaces and listed the Times, CNN and NBC, ending with this conclusion: ‘‘SICK!’’ The second tweet added ABC and CBS to the list, while removing ‘‘SICK!’’. Both tweets labelled the organisations as ‘‘the fake news media’’, with ‘‘fake news’’ in capital letters.
The tweet read: The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!
The media has been credited with breaking stories about Trump’s administration that have prompted action this week, including asking for the resignation of his national security adviser, and his nominee for labour secretary withdrawing from consideration.
Trump has berated the media for allegedly distorting facts and not painting a rosy portrait of the country under his leadership. At a news conference at the White House on Friday, he uttered the words ‘‘fake news’’ seven times.
‘‘Much of the media in Washington, DC – along with New York, Los Angeles, in particular – speaks not for the people but for the special interests and for those profiting off a very, very obviously broken system,’’ Trump said.
‘‘The press has become so dishonest that if we don’t talk about [it], we are doing a tremendous disservice to the American people. Tremendous disservice.
‘‘We have to talk to find out what’s going on, because the press honestly is out of control. The level of dishonesty is out of control.’’
That night, the Republican Party and Trump’s campaign websites posted a ‘‘Mainstream Media Accountability Survey’’ asking 25 questions that were worded in a way that would never be allowed in a scientific survey.
The survey formalises Trump’s attacks and his insinuation that media outlets are working against the American people. It is unclear what, if anything, the data will be used for, and participants are required to give their name, email address and postcode.
The first asks: ‘‘Do you believe that the mainstream media has reported unfairly on our movement?’’ It then asks whether the survey taker believes that MSNBC, CNN or Fox News ‘‘report fairly on Trump’s presidency’’, allowing for answers of ‘‘yes’’, ‘‘no’’ or ‘‘no opinion’’.
Those surveyed are also asked their primary source of news, with options limited to those three cable networks, along with ‘‘local news’’.
There is no mention of specific newspapers, websites, magazines or non-cable networks.
Other questions ask whether the respondents think the media does ‘‘due diligence fact-checking before publishing stories on the Trump administration’’, if it fairly reported on the rollout of Trump’s travel ban, if ‘‘political correctness has created biased news coverage on both illegal immigration and radical Islamic terrorism’’, and if the media has been ‘‘far too quick to spread false stories about our movement’’.
Participants can also indicate which issues the media does ‘‘the worst job of representing Republicans’’ on, with the option to pick as many topics as they like.
The final question is: ‘‘Do you believe that our Party should spend more time and resources holding the mainstream media accountable?’’
The social media advertisements directing people to the survey were paid for by the Trump REUTERS Make America Great Again committee, a joint fundraising committee that splits its proceeds between Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee.
Since Trump’s election victory, the fundraising committee has continued to pepper supporters with appeals for money., helping to keep a steady stream of contributions flowing to both the party and Trump’s campaign. By the end of December, Trump had already socked away US$7 million into his campaign account, money that officials say they are stockpiling for his 2020 reelection.
Digital fundraising experts said the media accountability survey appeared designed to keep Trump’s most loyal supporters engaged. People who fill out the questionnaire are taken to a donation page, where they are asked to give between US$35 and US$2500 – with the option of making a monthly donation.
‘‘President Trump is asking you to go the extra mile and make a contribution to help defend our movement from the outrageous attacks from the media coming our way,’’ it states. ‘‘Contribute now to help us fight back against the media’s attacks and deceptions.’’ Washington Post