NBC story: link
Gallup poll: link
In response to an NBC story reporting Donald Trump's interest in increasing the U.S. nuclear arsenal by "tenfold," Trump sent out two tweets: one denying the NBC report and one implying his desire to revoke the licenses from NBC and other news networks. In response to Trump's tweets, Jessica Rosenworcel, a member of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, pointed to the fact that networks do not have federal licenses, so the president does not have much power over this in the first place. Others recognized Trump's lack of power over networks and cable channels, but noted that his statements threaten the essence of the First Amendment right to freedom of the press.
A Gallup poll from July 2017 shows that in disputes between Trump and the media, 36% of Americans side with the news media, 32% side with the president, and 29% side with neither. Personally, I think that a lot of media networks are very reliable, especially over Trump's tweets. Nevertheless, although Trump's two tweets here were empty threats, I think his constant bashing of the media is dangerous in that it teaches his sympathizers to distrust the news altogether. I also oppose any moves to revoke licenses from news networks, as the freedom of the press should be defended.
What do you think of Trump's reaction to the NBC report? Who do you side with in media vs. Trump disputes, and why? Does Trump's criticism of the networks pose any threat or should it just be treated as empty words?
8 comments:
I'm not surprised with Trump's reaction to the media. He hasn't liked them since Day 1. However, the media is an essential part of our democracy. It serves to educate the people, so they can make informed decisions about politics. Trump tries to shape the narrative by bashing the reported information he doesn't like. I'm sorry, but that's not how it works. Unfortunately, there are people who look up to Trump, so his words are not entirely empty. His constant expressions of distaste for the media will either make people giggle or believe him. While Rosenworcel fact-checked Trump's threat in "revoking media licenses," many people do not check their facts. Thus, they may believe incorrect information, which goes against the media's value of education. Nonetheless, we live in a perilous state where it can be hard to tell what is fact and what is fiction.
I don't really side with either the president or the networks as they both have a tendency to over exaggerate the truth and often lie completely. Trump makes impulsive tweets which cause me to not take any of his tweets or other posts on social media seriously, however the networks will exaggerate and make stories up to keep the public interested in their news and their opinions. If I had to side with one I would trust the networks more as it is relatively easy to corroborate with other networks and news sources while Trump bluntly types what is on his mind.
I think Trump's reaction is a troubling sign of how he receives negative backlash and criticism. Throughout the entirety of his presidential career, he has made many threats to silence the press under the guise that everything is "fake news". Even though most of this can be attributed to speculation, I still do not believe that the press should be silenced. They gives us a platform for us to be more aware of our current events.
I agree with Tori in that media is a very important as it is the main source of our information about politics and current events. And although media might not be completely trustworthy and may exaggerate the truth as Toni brought up, I believe that for the most part, news sources such as NBC are more reliable than not. Thus, I believe that like many of his other tweets, Trump's tweets bashing the media for being completely fake news and "bad for the country" is pretty ridiculous. Though I'm not sure how much his tweets are affecting the opinions of his followers in regards to media, I don't think Trump's tweets are a huge threat or a pressing problem especially in the midst of everything else that is going on in our country today. And I also agree with you in opposing any moves to revoke licensing from news networks and media, though I doubt Trump would be able to pass any anyways since press and speech are protected rights of Americans.
When seeing stories like this, I initially side with President Trump, because the mainstream media does blow things out of proportion to make him look bad. I do not believe they are doing the right thing by doing this, but I respect that they have the right to report what they want. That being said, I have to strongly disagree with President Trump when he says that news networks should face consequences for the way they report the news. These news networks are exercising their First Amendment rights, which President Trump must respect even if he does not agree with what they are saying. Overall, the news networks may be unreliable, but President Trump reacts in a way which is fundamentally wrong for someone of his position.
I think the way Trump tweets is pretty inappropriate for someone who is an important political leader. I don't really trust what he tweets out because they seem impulsive. Toni mentioned how the media are also not very reliable but I do think there are some news sources that are. I trust reliable media sources more than Trumps tweets because their goal is to get information out to the public without ruining their reputation while Trump has his own agenda and wants to make his actions as president look good.
I think that Trump has a right to deny these claims by NBC but he does not have a right to revoke NBC's license just because they may have reported something incorrectly (I am not going to say here if they did or didn't). I personally side with NBC in this case because they believe that they reported this accurately and the government should protect what is honest reporting rather than challenging it. The first amendment protects the media from reporting what they believe is accurate information even if it is partially incorrect. Even if Trump did not make this statement directly, NBC was told he did by what they believe is a reliable source. Trump seeking to remove NBC's license is not only unconstitutional but ironic as he has clearly supported media outlets that clearly lie about stories to influence the opinions of their consumers.
The most troubling portion I find about this story is Trump's desire to expand the US nuclear arsenal by "tenfold". Although Trump denies the validity of this claim, I honestly would not be surprised if he was actually in support of this idea, especially given the fact that he is the first elected president with no prior military nor political experience. Trump's idea represents radical Republicanism, and in the words of a Republican congressman is "pushing us towards World War 3". Finally, Trump's attempt to revoke media licenses would blatantly violate the 1st amendment of freedom of the press, so as long as the US Supreme Court remains intact I highly doubt the media will be shutting down any time soon...
Post a Comment