The First Amendment, enshrined in the US constitution protects the press and guarantees freedom of expression. Can President Trump's CNN-bullying video tweet trigger attacks on media houses and individual journalists perceived to be against his administration? Trump’s continuous biased views on the mainstream media directly undermines the liberty of journalists to express themselves without being persecuted by the Executive.
Trump attacks MSNBC hosts
Since his election as president, Trump has increasingly been critical of the mainstream media with MSNBC hosts Morning Joe and Mika Brzezinski becoming his latest target. The President has launched a scathing Twitter onslaught aimed at blackmailing the mainstream media for supposedly reporting fake news. He has frequently accused them of publishing unverified stories aimed at undermining his administration. In fact, Trump once referred to the US media as the enemy of the American people.
The US President is setting a profoundly negative example by engaging in Online Bullying in which he has even targeted women journalists.
Instead of preparing for his overseas trips that could help heal the straining US international relations, the President has directed his energy on unnecessary endeavors. These tasks at the helm of the US President are extremely demanding. It, thus, defeats logic for Donald Trump to get involved in juvenile behavior far below the dignity of his office?
White House backs Trump’s Twitter craze
The offensive video clip comes in the wake of resignations of CNN’s top editors accused of publishing an anti-Trump story. The incident however seems to have re-energized Trump's persistent Twitter craze against the mainstream media. In as much as it’s common for some journalists all over the world to harbor secretive agenda against governments and groups, Trump’s blanket judgment on all US mainstream media, including those committed to reporting events without bias undermines the rights of journalists to do their work.
Trump’s recent Twitter rant in which he hurled insults at the hosts of MSNBC Morning Joe and Mika Brzezinski drew immense criticisms even from fellow Republicans. Surprisingly, Sarah Huckabee Sanders tenaciously defended the president's tweets stating that the President was only defending himself. The repercussions of Trump's unregulated and mostly demeaning Twitter rage against the media personalities can be catastrophic. The President has a fanatical following that can interpret his Twitter updates as legitimacy for physically attacks on individual journalists working for ‘unfriendly’ media houses.