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Apparently unhappy with the way he sees himself portrayed in the hours of TV news he watches, Donald Trump has trotted out his “Enemy of the People” trope to bash the press. This is one of the catchy phrases that the president used in his pre-COVID-19 rallies to whip his followers into a frenzy; today it’s doing the same for Twitter.
FAKE NEWS, THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2020
Twitter / @SomeYucks
I guess when you’re in love, everything your lover says just sounds right.
FAKE NEWS IS THE BIGGEST ENEMY OF THE STATE AND THE PEOPLE! pic.twitter.com/k5nJ9RFZxI
— Kim Jong-un 김정은 🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵 (@ReaIKimJongUn) April 27, 2020
Trump and Kim are in good company.
These are the leaders in history who used the phrase "the enemy of the people":
Stalin
Hitler
Mao
Chavez
Mugabe
TrumpIt was too extreme for the later Soviets. In 1956, Khrushchev retired the term, saying it was just aimed at annihilating those who disagreed with Stalin. https://t.co/c9RWbNhMmK
— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) April 27, 2020
The White House
A lot of Twitter actually saw the correlation between Trump and the North Korean dictator.
The American people deserve to have a calm and rational President who can guide us through the worst pandemic in modern history with steady leadership.
This is not it.
Screaming “FAKE NEWS, ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!” literally sounds like a communist dictator like Kim Jong Un.
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) April 27, 2020
“Lügenpresse” is German for “fake news, and was the term Hitler and the Nazis used again and again to discredit reporters.
“Enemy of the people” is what Hitler called independent newspapers. https://t.co/QvKReDDSoo
— N O S ⋊ Ɔ I ᴚ ᴚ Ǝ ᗡ ⊥ ⊥ O Ɔ S (@scottderrickson) April 27, 2020
Wikimedia
Trump got angry about a story he read in the New York Times (which he claims to never read) about him rolling in to work at noon. He just had to tweet.
I work from early in the morning until late at night, haven’t left the White House in many months (except to launch Hospital Ship Comfort) in order to take care of Trade Deals, Military Rebuilding etc., and then I read a phony story in the failing @nytimes about my work….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 26, 2020
But it doesn’t take the Times to prove his business hours. US Marines guard the Pennsylvania entrance to West Wing when the president is in his office. For most of Trump’s presidency—including during this pandemic—they rarely arrive before noon. So either the MARINES are showing up late, or…
55,000 Americans are dead. Get off Twitter and do something!#PutinsPuppet hands covered in American blood.
— Amy Siskind 🏳️🌈 (@Amy_Siskind) April 27, 2020
Screenshot/C-SPAN
Let’s not forget that this is a president who has never taken daily briefings from experts. “I don’t have to be told,” Trump says. Neither does anyone who lives in a fantasy.
Trump lives in a fantasy world made from desperation & dementia. He kept repeating “It may not come back at all“
The Reality is:
-Coronavirus isn’t going away
-New cases are steadily risingReality is crushing Trump, but who cares? He’s in the way. Get him out for real solutions
— Tom Joseph (@TomJChicago) April 23, 2020
The WH, which has not held a coronavirus press briefing since Friday, cancelled its Monday briefing following a weekend of tweets by Trump accusing the media of misrepresenting him.
How is he unable to grasp that we all watched the briefings live?https://t.co/1vTlVlUFNZ
— LiA (@LibsInAmerica) April 27, 2020
Screenshot / YouTube
Trump is so upset about this that his lackeys are trotting out to talk about how hard he’s working (now that it’s hard to golf).
Donald Trump’s day so far:
- Meltdown about the “the enemy of the people”
- He’s a FAKE PRESIDENT
- Hope Hicks is a disaster
- Nancy Pelosi endorses Joe Biden
- Pramila Jayapal endorses Joe Biden
- Let’s go win this together!
- Trump is going to prison
- It’s still only noon— Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) April 27, 2020
But Donald is sure that he works harder than those slacker presidents who shepherded lame stuff like going to the moon or helping the allies win two World Wars.
The people that know me and know the history of our Country say that I am the hardest working President in history. I don’t know about that, but I am a hard worker and have probably gotten more done in the first 3 1/2 years than any President in history. The Fake News hates it!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 26, 2020
Unsplash / Rick Lobs
Because not everyone is so sure it’s the free press.
He allegedly sexually assaulted over a dozen women, tried extorting an ally for his personal gain, is trying to take away our right to vote, and is making millions off of his presidency.
I think it’s obvious who the enemy of the people is.
Our FAKE PRESIDENT!#mondaythoughts
— Ms. Krassenstein (@HKrassenstein) April 27, 2020
Bleach chugging deranged
TRUMP IS THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!
Get Trump and all his stupid extremist lying cult out!! pic.twitter.com/x40FDpKKzi— JimmyT (@ElHenderz) April 27, 2020
Pixabay
Given the froth from Trump’s follower’s on this topic, it just needs to be said.
The media is the “enemy of the people” bullshit may be the most anti-American, dangerous thing he’s ever said.
And considering I’m talking about Donald Trump, that’s really saying something.
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) April 27, 2020
Presiden Biden, could you address the nation to let Americans know that the press is not the enemy of the people. https://t.co/kQmPR1XRqO
— David Weissman (@davidmweissman) April 27, 2020
Canva
The whole point of a free press is to make people aware of what is going on. No matter where you live, silencing the press just perpetuates ignorance.
Indeed. Bravo! Can you imagine a world without journalists in which Orban, Putin, Trump, Erdogan and Xi Jinping would decide what the truth is? Our democracy is dependent on a free press. https://t.co/nLQIHAzhCH
— Guy Verhofstadt (@guyverhofstadt) April 27, 2020
Inauguration ceremony for new press room in @PE_FRANCE in memory of #DaphneCaruanaGalizia. Free and independant press & investigative journalism are key components of our democracy, let's make sure journalists all over the world are safe pic.twitter.com/mteU3dro3p
— Philippe Lamberts (@ph_lamberts) October 23, 2018
Canva
A well-informed public required a free press.
Here's @PaulaReidCBS refusing to be talked over or interrupted as she questions Trump's spin on his coronavirus response - after he played a campaign ad in the briefing room. pic.twitter.com/IcvwdOriem
— Jon Lovett (@jonlovett) April 13, 2020
We Are literally in the midst of the worst pandemic in 100 years with 55,000 Americans now dead and the President is using his Twitter account to call the Media, who reported on the virus months before Trump took it serious "The enemy of the people."#mondaythoughts
— Ms. Krassenstein (@HKrassenstein) April 27, 2020
Source: Flickr/Wikimedia
A 2018 poll has resurfaced that showed nearly half of Republicans think the president should be able to shut down news sources for “bad behavior.” But nearly everyone agreed that a free press is necessary for the survival of American democracy (85%) and that free speech is an essential American value (88%).
So “bad behavior” is going to have to be pretty bad. Like maybe pushing an untested coronavirus treatment over 300 times.
After weeks of relentless hype, Trump and Fox News have suddenly stopped talking about hydroxychloroquine. That's not an accident. https://t.co/hYKLCiWVXJ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 22, 2020
Meanwhile on Fox News' YouTube page, plenty of videos promoting hydroxychloroquine pic.twitter.com/2nvffUncz7
— John Whitehouse (@existentialfish) April 21, 2020
Pixabay / Faizal Sugi
In his latest battle with the media, Trump is giving the press the silent treatment. Initially, the Monday afternoon White House coronavirus briefing was canceled until it was added back on the daily schedule later in the day. How long can that last?
UPDATE: The White House has additional testing guidance and other announcements about safely opening up America again. President @realDonaldTrump will brief the nation during a press conference this evening.
— Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec) April 27, 2020
Canva
Trump can’t fake news away what’s happening now.
The fake president should consider these facts. US has 5% of world population, but 30% of the #coronavirus cases and 20% of the deaths. Nero fiddled and so far 50,000 plus are dead.
— rick j (@TheWax73) April 27, 2020
My brother in law is burying his mother today who died of COVID-19. Could you shut up for one GD second and think of those hurting and dying? You are so disgusting, it’s all about YOU! YOU ARE THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!
— CoCoJoWats (@WatsJo) April 27, 2020
A free press is one of the foundations of our nation—not the enemy of the people.
