A recurring theme in the news these days has been President Trump’s war with the press. This is not a new theme. As early in Trump’s presidency as February of 2017, MSNBC’s Mika Bzezinski accused Trump of deliberately attempting to “undermine the media” by “messaging so much [on Twitter] that he can actually control exactly what people think.”
Since then, the problem has mushroomed, with the Boston Globe now calling for a coordinated editorial response from publications across the U.S. to President Donald Trump’s frequent attacks on the news media.
If Trump really wanted to shut down the media, he might take a cue from New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio who recently had a reporter dragged off by his security detail for asking a question “hizzoner” preferred not to answer.
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During a press avail at the Dominican Day Parade in Manhattan, New York Post reporter Kevin Sheehan asked the mayor to comment on an article in which it was revealed that his administration had frequently met with lobbyists.
Two bodyguards promptly escorted Sheehan away from the mayor’s podium, one even grabbing him by the shoulder and leading him nearly a block away.
Just hours after Bill de Blasio portrayed himself as a defender of the press to @brianstelter on CNN, he had his security physically remove a credentialed reporter who was covering him https://t.co/KkT93ufwN6
— Evan Siegfried (@evansiegfried) August 13, 2018
The bizarre attempt to muzzle the free press came just hours after de Blasio appeared on CNN and declared his love for a free press.
“I believe in a free, strong media with diverse views. I’ll defend it with all I’ve got,” he claimed.
There was a disclaimer to that, however. De Blasio does not believe in a free press when it comes to outlets that report negatively on him and his liberal colleagues, particularly News Corp., the media giant run by Rupert Murdoch and whose subsidiaries include Fox News and the New York Post.
“But we have to be able to call out when a particular company has a corporate agenda, has a political agenda, and has very effectively changed the American discourse,” the mayor added.
"I believe in a free, strong media with diverse views. I'll defend it with all I've got"….except Fox News. They are evil and need to go away.
In the words of @BoDietl: Go away Big Bird.https://t.co/ypAMuP6l5n
— Avi Greenberger (@iamavig) August 12, 2018
The mayor recently claimed that it would be better if certain newsrooms – like News Corp. – didn’t exist.
“If you could remove News Corp from the last 25 years of American history, we would be in an entirely different place,” he said.
That is, most decidedly, a man that does not support the First Amendment of the Constitution.
In the past, de Blasio has claimed he has “no use for a right-wing rag” like the New York Post and preferred to call on “real media outlets.”
Woah. @yoavgonen trying to get question in but @BilldeBlasio blatantly ignoring. Yoav calls out. Mayor: "I am calling on real media outlets"
— Grace Rauh (@gracerauh) October 6, 2016
During an interview with CNN’s Brian Stelter, he defended those attacks, seemingly unaware that he had just claimed to be pro-press.
“Why do you feel it’s your role to be calling out a newspaper because you don’t like the content?” Stelter asked.
“Because I think it’s not happening enough. … It’s not happening the way I think it should,” de Blasio responded in true dictatorial form.
Just last month, the mainstream media practically had a coronary when a journalist making a scene at the conference between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, was removed.
Not long thereafter, CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins was barred her from attending a public event the President appeared in. ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl responded by saying “Banning [Collins] for asking legitimate questions is thuggish and contrary to the spirit of the First Amendment.”
Will de Blasio be the recipient of an equal level of disdain for his actions? Is he not being “thuggish and contrary to the spirit of the First Amendment?”
Cross-posted from The Mental Recession
