NY Times Publisher Responds to Trump’s ‘ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE’ Attack: ‘Not Just False, It’s Dangerous’
New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger is hitting back at President Donald Trump for attacking the paper as the “enemy of the people.”
The New York Times reporting is false. They are a true ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2019
In a statement he released on Wednesday, Sulzberger condemned Trump for diminishing the free press as an institution whenever he demonizes them for asking tough questions and run unflattering coverage on his administration. Sulzberger goes on to say that Trump has every right to critique reporters, but this is different from Trump’s attacks on the media, which Sulzberger calls an abandonment of a “distinctly American principle” to defend the free press.
From the statement.
“The phrase “enemy of the people” is not just false, it’s dangerous. It has an ugly history of being wielded by dictators and tyrants who sought to control public information. And it is particularly reckless coming from someone whose office gives him broad powers to fight or imprison the nation’s enemies. As I have repeatedly told President Trump face to face, there are mounting signs that this incendiary rhetoric is encouraging threats and violence against journalists at home and abroad.”
Trump’s called the Times the “enemy of the people” on Twitter today as he claimed that stories written about him “have absolutely no basis in fact” and “the writers don’t even call asking for verification.” Reporter Maggie Haberman has called out this “lie,” saying she reached out to the White House for comment on the report that Trump asked former Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker to appoint an ally of the president at the head of the Southern District of New York.
Sulzberger participated in a recent interview the Times did with Trump, during which, he called out the autocratic implications of the president’s anti-media rhetoric. Trump brushed off these concerns while grumbling about his press coverage and how he’s “entitled” to more positive stories from the paper.
[Photo via Getty Images]
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