Fox News’ Wallace Rebukes Trump’s ‘Sustained Assault’ On Press Freedom

@alexvhenderson
Fox News’ Wallace Rebukes Trump’s ‘Sustained Assault’ On Press Freedom

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Even though Fox News hosts like Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Tucker Carlson and Jeanine Pirro aggressively support President Donald Trump more often than not, he often takes to Twitter to complain when the right-wing cable news channel gives him a hard time. His main targets at Fox News include Judge Andrew Napolitano and Chris Wallace, both of whom have been highly critical of Trump at times. And when Wallace spoke at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday night, he didn’t hesitate to call out Trump’s bitterly anti-media rhetoric.

“I believe that President Trump is engaged in the most direct sustained assault on freedom of the press in our history,” the 72-year-old Wallace told the crowd.

That comment, according to The Guardian’s David Smith, drew applause. But Wallace had a lot more to say about Trump, who routinely accuses the mainstream media of promoting “fake news” and being an “enemy of the American people.”

Trump, according to Wallace, “has done everything he can to undercut the media, to try and delegitimize us — and I think his purpose is clear: to raise doubts when we report critically about him and his administration that we can be trusted. Back in 2017, he tweeted something that said far more about him than it did about us: ‘The fake news media is not my enemy. It is the enemy of the American people.’”

Wallace, who is the son of the late broadcaster Mike Wallace, also expressed concerns that Trump’s anti-media rants are having some effect.

“Let’s be honest, the president’s attacks have done some damage,” Wallace warned. “A Freedom Forum Institute poll, associated here with the Newseum, this year found that 29% of Americans, almost a third of all of us, think the First Amendment goes too far. And 77%, three quarters, say that fake news is a serious threat to our democracy.”

But as critical of Trump as Wallace was during his speech, he also warned against journalists going overboard in their criticism of the president.

“I think many of our colleagues see the president’s attacks, his constant bashing of the media, as a rationale, as an excuse to cross the line themselves, to push back — and that is a big mistake,” Wallace cautioned. “I see it all the time on the front page of major newspapers and the lead of the evening news: fact mixed with opinion, buzzwords like ‘bombshell’ and ‘scandal’ —  the animus of the reporter and the editor as plain to see as the headline.”

Advertising

Start your day with National Memo Newsletter

Know first.

The opinions that matter. Delivered to your inbox every morning

Trump Touts New Push To 'Repeal And Replace' Obamacare

The late Sen. John McCain gives thumbs down to Affordable Care Act repeal in July 2017

Photo by Library of Congress on Unsplash

Donald Trump is once again living in the past, trying to resurrect a Republican political debacle that even the Freedom Caucus has abandoned: Obamacare repeal. “The cost of Obamacare is out of control, plus, it’s not good Healthcare. I’m seriously looking at alternatives," he spewed on Truth Social on Saturday.

Keep reading...Show less
George Santos
Rep. George Santos
George Santos

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson on Monday afternoon said he has spoken toRep. George Santos, suggesting the embattled and indicted New York Republican might resign rather than face an impending expulsion vote he’s likely to lose. But over the holiday weekend, Santos suggested he was not going to go without a fight, as he appeared to take a page out of another embattled Republican’s book: former Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC).

Keep reading...Show less
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}