Trump Calls Independent News Outlets ‘Illegal’

Photo Courtesy: Greg Nash/The Hill

Donald Trump’s attacks on the press have escalated in recent days, to the point where he suggested independent media outlets should be deemed illegal. Trump specifically targeted CNN and MSNBC for their coverage of him, which the American president believes to be “really corrupt and illegal.”  The comments came during a speech at the Department of Justice last Friday. Journalists, news organizations and citizens around the world are uniting against this unprecedented assault on press freedom.

Trump continued to distort truths saying “These networks and these newspapers are really no different than a highly paid political operative, and it has to stop, it has to be illegal. It’s influencing judges and it’s really changing law, and it just cannot be legal. I don’t believe it’s legal, and they do it in total coordination with each other.” Trump, who has himself been convicted on 34 felony counts, also used his speech to criticize former president Biden.

There has been no legal evidence of corruption by either of the media outlets named by the president.

Media Action Plan recently joined the global solidarity call from the International Federation of Journalists, in support of media workers who face attacks on their rights. This call came in response to the relentless and increasing attacks from the Trump administration and their supporters on journalists across the globe. Media Action Plan also sponsors the Canada Press Freedom Project, that reports on press freedom violations here in Canada.