THE rebuke of the US President Donald Trump by over 350 US dailies and other media outlets in their editorials on Thursday has come as a coordinated response to Trump’s dirty war against the media and in defense of the press freedom. His sustained attack on free media as ‘fake news’ ever since he took over and the latest characterization of the press as the ‘enemy of the people and the opposition party” severely hurt the foundation of the free press. The US Constitution guaranteed the press freedom and never before it came under such attack from a president.
Needless to say Trump wants to control the free media but as he fails he has taken to denounce the free press. He takes the free press as the biggest obstacle to him when it contradicts his erring policies or come out vocal against his dirty politics or unveils his scandalous life. By characterizing the free media as fake news he is blatantly out to insult the media and mislead the nation to believe in his lies and keep people away from the truth.
The US media responded to a call of the Boston Globe; which recently raised the issue of nationwide coordinated editorials and said all newspapers must unite to rebuke Trump’s slanderous attack on the media to protect the press freedom.
Over 350 newspapers and media outlets including the UK based The Guardian on Thursday published the editorials together. Many have characterized Trump’s policy towards the free press as a sinister move and destructive. Even the Republican controlled Senate on Thursday passed a bill saying free press is the foundation of American democracy and not enemy of the people in defiance of the Republican President in the White House. .
The US media has not missed the occasion to remind the nation that the greatness of America is dependent on the role of a free press to speak the truth to the powerful. To label the press as ‘the enemy of the people’ is as un-American as it is dangerous to the civic compact to divide the nation that never before had happened in its two-century history. Never before had any US sitting President faced such collective reprimand from the press.
Editors are the conscience of the nation and when they speak; they speak out the mind of the people. Such rebuke is no doubt a challenge to the president that he is not the state and he has recognised the press as the power on behalf of the people.
It is a historical milestone for the freedom loving people of the United States announcing boldly that the press is there to protect them from madness of an arrogant President who thinks he is all powerful. The press as fourth pillar of democracy has a responsibility to put President in his place. If he is kept unrestrained he is bound to be a disaster for the great American people. The whole world is in fear that this property developer President does not understand what makes a nation great and the leader of the free world. President Trump is dangerously dictatorial and a threat to democracy everywhere.
We welcome the robust protest from the press of the United States against their President as a hope for press freedom and democracy. In contrast we have journalist as activists of undemocratic party politics and they are not ashamed of it.
