In the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, there are enshrined what are known as the Five Freedoms: that of religion, speech, press, peaceful assembly and petitioning of the government. We hold these rights to be sacred, and attempts by the Federal Government to infringe upon them are resisted as fundamentally anti-American. Indeed, even infringements by private individuals -- a murkier field, legally speaking -- are generally seen as unethical, at best.
When a President is sworn into office, they take an oath to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.” As holders of the highest office in the land, they are expected to enforce and support the letter and spirit of our nation’s laws. As voters, we look for indicators that a candidate will fulfill those obligations when considering who to cast our ballots for.
It has been said that a free press is essential to the democratic process. Without a media free from government influence, there is no check on politicians and their ambitions that may conflict with the public good. While there are perfectly valid accusations of bias leveled towards many modern news outlets, at the end of the day we want these reporters to be able to cover the story.
A free press is a thorn in the side of those who seek power -- eager to seize upon slips and misdeeds to trumpet to the world. I imagine there are many politicians who have wished, if only for a fleeting moment, for the ability to muzzle a particularly irksome reporter. Thankfully, however, such impulses are generally squashed beneath the twin forces of public pressure and a basic respect for the law and customs of the land.
Unfortunately, Donald Trump seems to have missed a few lessons on introductory constitutional law. His former campaign manager infamously physically strong-armed a reporter and, perhaps more troubling, his campaign as a whole has made a habit of denying press credentials and banning reporters from certain news outlets from his rallies and press conferences. And we’re not talking about refusing to grant credentials to some conspiracy blogger or wannabe newsmaker; his campaign has gone so far as to deny credentials to the Washington Post and Politico, among others, because of perceived negative coverage.
This is unsettling, particularly as it follows a Trump pattern of leveling libel suits against any individuals who pop up on his radar. This is the man who has promised to “open up” libel laws to make it easier to bring litigation against news agencies. This is the man who belittled the NY Times, saying they -- and I quote -- “never write good” in response to negative coverage. To imagine a man with such views of a free press holding the responsibility of executing our nation’s laws is extremely disturbing.
A campaign is an audition, a time for candidates to prove to voters that they are the best choice for office. With Donald Trump so routinely putting his thin-skinned ego ahead of our very Constitution, it’s difficult to argue that he is fit to be a city councilman, let alone President of the United States.
