Donald Trump has been under a large amount of harsh criticism ever since he decided to leave the mirage of fame for being rich and enter the presidential race. Now, this is less about that decision and not even discussing the issues with his actions as president but instead one of Trump's biggest concerns: silencing critics.
Donald is a man that values how others think and feel about him as well as how the general population receives him above all else. His first action when anything negative is said about him on any remotely popular platform is to take to Twitter and denounce the argument in any way possible. This includes personal attacks and anything that will give him the upper hand. This is not the kind of example a president of the United States should be acting at all.
The real problem with this is that he is trying to dismantle any type of criticism and argument against him and placing doubts in the heads of a large portion of Americans. This means that he is trying to publicly shame news sources into only publishing positive and praising articles about him and forcing those who dissent to think about doing something that is inherently protected by the very constitution that Mr. Trump was sworn in on. This places doubt into the heads of the general population of Americans as they are no longer sure about who and what news they can trust as to what is actual fact or fiction. It forces people to second guess any piece of information that they receive which can arguably lead to a complete distrust of news and therefore complacency.
An important and major instance of this very thing is Trump's denouncement of any poll that puts him as the loser in any way. He tweeted that "any negative polls are fake news". This is not even him saying that all polls are fake, but instead that any negative ones are fake which is a crucial distinction to make. This means that any news that decides to critique him or place him in a harsh or negative light is inherently wrong and therefore all of the news by that provider is wrong. He even calls out the New York Times and says that they make up stories and lies about him to convince people that there is a pattern and that therefore nothing from them can be trusted.
This is not just a harsh statement or some deluded thinking. This is the current elected representative of America saying that only news that is positive towards him is factual and therefore should be listened to. This is the blossoming of a dictator. This is a man that can not handle any level of criticism or scrutiny. This is the first steps in the leap from a simple tweet to complete and utter media control and censorship.
