Trump, sensing a lack of solidarity, pushes the press down a slippery slope

[marmar]

Trump, sensing a lack of solidarity, pushes the press down a slippery slope
Donald Trump demands the Associated Press bend a knee — while the rest of the media falls back

By Brian Karem
White House columnist
Published February 15, 2025 6:00AM (EST)


(Salon) While Vice President JD Vance flew to Munich and angered our closest allies on a variety of subjects, including free speech, the president was busy in Washington D.C. banning the press in an effort to stifle free speech.

Welcome to the 26th day of the new Donald Trump regime.

....(snip)....

Trump has a bug up his nether regions about the AP because it won’t recognize the Gulf of Mexico as “the Gulf of America,” per Trump’s royal decree. “The Associated Press continues to ignore the lawful geographic name change of the Gulf of America,” Trump said via a post on X. “While their right to irresponsible and dishonest reporting is protected by the First Amendment, it does not ensure their privilege of unfettered access to limited spaces, like the Oval Office and Air Force One.”

It's not only questionable whether it’s a “lawful” name change, but the rest of the world hasn’t acknowledged the change, so the AP — with offices around the world — has been right to withhold the change until something definitive — like a law being passed, or other countries acknowledging the change, take place. No matter, Trump isn’t going to wait. He wants you to bow right now damnit. So Trump has kicked the AP out of the pool for not bending its collective knee. This begs the question what will happen when other reporters question Trump on anything from vaccines to Ukraine to immigration to a variety of other important topics. If Trump declares he’s stating facts when he isn’t, and we question him on the facts, who else will be kicked out of the pool for not agreeing with the president?

....(snip)....

If you haven’t figured it out by now, let me put it as bluntly as I can to my colleagues in the press: If you want to cover Donald Trump, then you have to stand up to him. You have to refuse to move. Refuse to bend. Refuse to break. Ask him the important questions. Push back against his verbal defecation. It doesn’t matter what he, other reporters or anyone else thinks of you. ..................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2025/02/15/trump-sensing-a-lack-of-solidarity-pushes-the-press-down-a-slippery-slope/

[BOSSHOG]

1. Sadly

Members of the White House press corps need a refresher in journalism. There are journalists around the globe doing their job one explosion away from being gone forever. Fuck trump. Do your job. We depend on you to do that. And AP could not be more correct.

I recall way back when, Nixon angrily asked Dan Rather at a press conference whether he was running for president. Rather said, “No. Are You?”

[ThoughtCriminal]

2. Any news organization that bends a knee is useless to citizens

Whether the issue is large or small, it's a test and many have already failed.