{"slug":"first-term-press-freedom-attacks","title":"First-Term Attacks on Press Freedom: 'Enemy of the People' and Institutional Delegitimization","date":"2017-02-17","lastUpdated":"2020-11-03","description":"Throughout his first term, Trump conducted a systematic campaign to delegitimize independent journalism, calling the mainstream press 'enemy of the people' — a phrase with a specific totalitarian history — threatening broadcast licenses of critical networks, attempting to revoke the White House credentials of individual journalists, and publicly encouraging hostility toward reporters. The U.S. dropped from 41st to 45th on the Press Freedom Index during the first term; the rhetoric was cited by authoritarian governments to justify their own press crackdowns.","summary":"Trump used the phrase 'enemy of the people' to describe mainstream media more than 30 times, echoing language used by Stalin, Mao, and other authoritarian leaders. His administration attempted to ban reporters from press briefings, challenged broadcast licenses in apparent retaliation for critical coverage, encouraged legal changes to make it easier to sue journalists, and called for investigations of reporters. International press freedom organizations documented the global impact: Trump's rhetoric gave cover to authoritarian leaders from Turkey to the Philippines to justify imprisoning journalists.","category":"rule-of-law","severity":"critical","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://cpj.org/reports/2017/04/trump-media-first-amendment-committee-protect-journalists/","title":"Trump's assault on the press — one year review","publisher":"Committee to Protect Journalists"},{"url":"https://rsf.org/en/rsf-index-2020/united-states","title":"2020 Press Freedom Index — United States","publisher":"Reporters Without Borders (RSF)"},{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/08/us/politics/trump-enemy-of-the-people.html","title":"'Enemy of the People': Trump Breaks With Decades of Presidential Rhetoric","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/can-trump-revoke-the-broadcast-licenses-of-nbc-and-cbs/2017/10/12/f7a38e58-af26-11e7-9e58-e6288544af98_story.html","title":"Trump threatens to revoke NBC's broadcast license","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/trump-media-free-press-enemy-of-people-e1ae39e5a7f144b7ac5c5a5aa1e2bb07","title":"AP analysis: Trump's 'enemy of the people' attacks echo authoritarianism","publisher":"The Associated Press"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["press-freedom","enemy-of-the-people","media","rule-of-law","first-term","First-Amendment"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2017-02-17","title":"First 'enemy of the people' tweet","summary":"Trump tweets that 'FAKE NEWS media' — specifically naming NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, and the New York Times — is 'the enemy of the American People.' It is the first presidential use of the phrase since the McCarthy era; the phrase's specific association with Stalinist purges and Maoist cultural revolution propaganda is immediately noted by historians."},{"date":"2017-02-24","title":"CNN, NYT, others barred from White House gaggle","summary":"The White House bars CNN, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Politico, and BuzzFeed from an informal press briefing (gaggle) with press secretary Sean Spicer — the first exclusion of major outlets from a White House briefing in recent memory."},{"date":"2017-10-11","title":"Trump threatens NBC broadcast license","summary":"After NBC reports on a story about Trump wanting a tenfold increase in nuclear weapons, Trump tweets: 'With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!' First Amendment scholars and broadcast law experts note the threat is itself a potential First Amendment violation."},{"date":"2018-11-07","title":"CNN's Jim Acosta credentials revoked","summary":"The White House revokes CNN reporter Jim Acosta's press credentials after a contentious press conference, claiming he placed his hands on a White House intern in a widely-disputed characterization of video footage. A federal judge orders the credentials restored 12 days later, finding the revocation violated due process."},{"date":"2019-05-01","title":"Trump calls for New York Times investigation","summary":"After the Times publishes a story on Trump's tax losses, Trump calls the story 'treason' and suggests the government should investigate the journalists involved — one of multiple instances of Trump suggesting legal action against reporters for critical coverage."},{"date":"2020-04-14","title":"Trump threatens to prorogue Congress to prevent journalist oversight","summary":"During the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump's hostility toward journalists covering pandemic failures intensifies; he and his allies discuss using presidential authority to declare Congress in recess specifically to prevent oversight hearings that might feature critical journalists as witnesses."}],"location":{"name":"Washington, D.C.","lat":38.9072,"lng":-77.0369},"custom":{"era":"first-term","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[{"statute":"International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights","article":"Article 19","provision":"Right to freedom of expression and information — including freedom of the press and protection from state interference with journalism"},{"statute":"Universal Declaration of Human Rights","article":"Article 19","provision":"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media"}],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"Individual journalists subjected to threats and credential revocations; the independent press as an institution; populations globally whose governments cited Trump's rhetoric to justify press suppression","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"President of the United States","institution":"White House"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2020-11-03","summary":"Updated with full first-term press freedom record through election day."}]}}