Opponents of President Trump have insisted for months that their protests were not sparked due to his political party, but rather the man himself and the danger he represents. Despite this repeated assertion, Trump surrogates and keyboard warriors continue to claim that all who disagree with 45 are simply sore loser Democrats, easily written off or ignored.
I think those who continue to believe that after the February 24 White House briefing must insist on going through life with their eyes permanently closed.
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In a stunningly brash move last Friday, the White House prevented prominent media organizations from attending an official briefing from Press Secretary Sean Spicer. Amongst the news organizations banned:
The New York Times
CNN
Politico
By contrast, here were some of the news organizations allowed to attend the informal briefing:
Breitbart News
One America News Network
Breitbart and OANN have put forth consistently favorable coverage of Trump and his campaign. Organizations such as The Times and CNN, however, are frequent targets of late night/early morning tweet-storms from the Oval Office.
This is not a partisan issue. No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, this administration's attacks on the press should be alarming.
It is incredible that I and so many others need to continuously reiterate this point in 2017, but a free press is essential to a functioning democracy. Journalists must be able to do their jobs and report the facts, regardless of whether or not those facts paint a leader and his fragile ego in a positive light.
It is not far-fetched to guess that, unless it faces significant opposition, the White House may continue slowly restricting permissions until only organizations that report favorably on the administration have access. This would be disguised, of course, as "cracking down on fake news."
As a reminder, Breitbart published an article with the infamous headline, "Birth control makes women unattractive and crazy."
A free press prevents a democracy from becoming a dictatorship. For those who refuse to believe me, just listen to Sean Spicer himself.
Those voicing their opposition to the Trump administration are not simply following the party line. They're calling on the rest of the country to recognize that the actions of the White House are a creeping threat.
