Admit it I must. I'm sick and tired of hearing Donald Trump berate and insult almost all journalists because he doesn't like the questions they ask or the stories they report or even how they look. He basically doesn't like reporters or anchors doing their jobs unless they do it his way, and he's increasingly punishing when they don’t. Whether it’s Trump’s Twitter rants, yanked credentials or ordering force to be used whenever he's offended, we are witnessing the Republican presidential campaign frontrunner adding another dangerous game to his repertoire. He is dismissing the importance of freedom of the press and its role as a bedrock of democracy.
Trump is not the first presidential candidate to take issue with reporters, but his words and actions in this campaign are taking things to a whole different level of disdain and disrespect. He’s using a diverse number of platforms to spread his vitriol against the media, and it’s dangerous. Whether it’s campaign rallies, social media, or formal gatherings, Trump continues to portray reporters as the enemy while he encourages violence. You don’t have to agree with every reporter or media outlet, but the job they do is essential to allowing us to form our own opinions in a free society.
Everyone who is tuned in hears Trump’s remarks without the full benefit of understanding of what is taking place. The reality for some reporters recently covering the potential nominee comes to this: they are strategically placed in the back of the room with rows of Trump supporters put in front of them. When the time comes for questions, the media has no choice but to shout their questions across the room, only to have an amazing thing happen. You can barely hear their questions, if you hear them at all. It appears there are no microphones being used to pick up the sound of any reporters seeking to query Trump. If there are, they have been shut off. Once might have been an accident, but I began to notice the lack of sound during questioning a few primaries back. At first I thought it was a technical problem. Then I realized, in all likelihood, it was a problem Trump created just for reporters on the scene so the only thing we could hear were his answers.
All this is coming from a man whose candidacy the media has helped make with its sometimes overwhelming exposure. Trump and reporters are caught in an intricate web of little or no choice. He needs them to fuel his campaign, and they need to cover him because he's running for president of the United States. But Donald Trump's continued abuse of reporters is escalating, and it needs to stop. His media attack playbook has been used in one form or another by autocrats and dictators for generations.