Also there is Mr. Trumps relentless interaction with the press. And I dont just mean the big guys. I mean the little local guys from Poughkeepsie piped into the White House briefing room for awkward questions asked by disemboweled local anchors.
At the end of the day Mr. Trump is still not done. So he turns to Twitter to unleash yet more unfiltered news awesomeness onto the American media landscape.
Welcome to the Age of Raw Journalism. Truly a new dawn in American media. Drink fully from it for the flowing bounty has never been like this ever before and who knows if and when it will ever end.
It is the confluence of instant information manic technologies and a political figure who has the strength fearlessness and stamina to keep it going around the clock.
So lets check in with the professionals the folks who stand to benefit the most from this most generous newsmaker.
This is how the muzzling starts" New York Times media drip Jim Rutenberg warned ominously not with a boot on your neck but with the fear of one that runs so deep that you muzzle yourself."
Not sure exactly what that means but I checked twice to make sure I copied it correctly.
Maybe its the story you decide against doing because its liable to provoke a press-bullying president to put the power of his office behind his attempt to destroy your reputation by falsely calling your journalism fake.
Maybe its the line you hold back from your script or your article because it could trigger a federal leak investigation into you and your sources (so yeah jail)."
All of that is from an actual report by Mr. Rutenberg in the once-great newspaper that is now according to the president failing." Everywhere you turn today reporters are gasping that the First Amendment is somehow under assault by Mr. Trump. White House reporters say they are under siege during daily briefings with Sean Spicer insulting them rudely answering questions and assaulting them with the actual White House podium. OK that last one I made up but it was from the first funny skit Saturday Night Live" has come up with in decades. But lets seriously consider how Mr. Trump is handling the press. He gave a one-hour 17-minute press briefing in the White House last Thursday. He walked in and began by mentioning" the name of his new nominee for labor secretary. And then he turned the whole thing over to reporters. All modern presidents have opened such briefings with a list of handpicked reporters they would call on to ensure they only got the type of questions they wanted. Nobody in the doormat press corps ever complains about that. Donald Trump threw the gates wide open. If he walked in with a list he tossed it aside by the time he got going. He was up there pointing to random reporters and pitting them against one another at times barking like a tobacco auctioneer. He took any and all questions. He was tough he was funny he was belligerent. But he was always engaging.
Mr. Trumps immediate predecessor was famous for taking eight questions and bloviating at length and droning on long enough on each question that he would stretch it out to 50 minutes. He never wavered of course from his list of approved questioners.
In Mr. Trumps freewheeling press conference he answered questions from two dozen reporters more than 40 questions total if you include follow-ups.
And the entire thing was riveting and revealing and supremely watchable. How is this an affront to the First Amendment?
Katy Tur another journalistic lion over on the MSNBC television channel was recently interviewing a Republican in Congress.
As we know theres since 2000 been a couple dozen suspicious deaths of journalists in Russia who came out against the government there" Ms. Tur said.
Donald Trump has made no secret about going after journalists and his distaste for any news that doesnt agree with him here. Do you find that this is a dangerous path he is heading down?"
So Donald Trump likes to mix it up with reporters and challenge them? So next step is hes going to start killing them? OK I am not in the least bit concerned about the 1st Amendment in America with Mr. Trump in the
White House.
But we are seriously on the precipice of doom if fragile dopes like Katy Tur are our last line of defense.
Charles Hurt can be reached at churt@washingtontimes.com; follow him on Twitter via @charleshurt.
