He vilifies the press

The tic is so routine, the nation rarely notices anymore. “Fake news,” the president snipes when asked a question he dislikes. The media is the “enemy of the people,” he shouts on Twitter morning, noon and night. The barrage of invective demands more than an eye roll; it is one of the 99 reasons Trump must not remain in power another four years.

We don’t care about the hurt feelings of reporters; thrusting and parrying with the man at the bully pulpit comes with the territory.

We do care about the credible claims Trump has abused the power of the federal government to retaliate against a company because its CEO also owns the Washington Post.

We care that his Stalinesque language has given cover to dictators around the world to launch their own attacks on intrepid members of their press.

We care that Trump has abused the courts by filing frivolous lawsuits to shut down legitimate reporting.

We care that his animus toward the press has made his administration the least transparent in modern history, as Trump has withheld information on the workings of government to which the American public is entitled.

And we care that such incessant drubbing has turned millions of Americans against journalists and conditioned them to reflexively distrust even rigorous reporting with which they disagree, allowing disinformation to spread like a virus, even in the midst of a pandemic.

Anger at the press is as old as the presidency. This much corrosive hostility is doing lasting damage to America.