Donald Trump’s current regime has wasted no time in their bid to suppress the media. With his efforts, he is mimicking the tactics used by past dictators like Adolf Hitler to silence the press. Trump’s lawsuits, his press corps banishments and reductions, and the hyperbolic offensive language he uses to discredit them are the sure early signs of a crazy, raving despot.
Trump came loaded and ready when he entered the White House on this go-around. He installed a true Neo-Nazi, Stephen Miller to run his policy apparatus. For his assault team, he recruited his best new bro, Elon Musk and his band of youthful miscreants to wreak havoc on government agencies. And in his choice as press secretary, he hired a robot, Karoline Leavitt who while brainless, can nonetheless recite MAGA fallacies at a drop of a hat.
Let’s peak back to the past to see how Hitler suppressed the German “Fourth Estate.” Then we’ll swing it back to today to examine some of Trump’s most egregious abuses of the media.
Adolf Hitler’s Brutality
When Adolf Hitler took power in Germany in 1933, the Nazi Party controlled less than three percent of Germany’s 4,700 papers. As he eliminated other political parties, he shut down hundreds of newspapers and seized the printing plants and equipment used by opposition parties. The Nazi Party took over control of the industry and turned independent news agencies into propaganda machines.
He used the media to stoke fears of a “Communist uprising, and storm troopers roamed the streets harassing, arresting, and eventually jailing any stated opposition to the Third Reich. Next to show the superiority of the “Aryan Race,” he drove out the largest Jewish-owned publishers, forcing them to flee the country, thereby canceling their opposition.
Joseph Goebbels’ Propaganda Ministry started keeping lists of “pure” journalists, editors and publishers, who had to maintain strict adherence to the mandates handed down by the ministry. Nothing that portrayed a blemish on the Reich could appear in any publication. Members of the media who failed to follow these edicts were fired and/or sent to concentration camps. The Nazi propaganda machine did not suppress the news, but rather, manipulated the control of its flow and interpretation denying any access to alternative sources of news.
Trump’s Reign of Terror
Much in the way that Donald J. Trump has manipulated the U.S. media for distortion, disinformation, and misinformation purposes. Such as when with the help of the New York City press, he turned the trial of the “Central Park Five,” into a public flogging that saw all five defendants convicted and incarcerated, although they were all eventually acquitted. He has used the media for years to inflate his wealth and his success as a businessman. And he used them as a smoke screen against his culpability in his failed Atlantic City businesses, Trump University, and the Trump Foundation.
And of course, Trump attacked the press viciously in his first term. Any opposition to him or his policies brought on the usually “fake news” or the “failing New York Times” remarks in an effort to discredit any opposing views. And of course, any indictment or trial that Mr. Trump was involved in immediately brought out the moniker “witch hunt” as if to say he was being persecuted by unjust and evil-minded judges, political opponents and members of the media.
Ratcheted Up the Abuse
But in his second term, Trump has turned up the dial on his assault on the press. Unshackled by any disloyal aides and completely without guardrails, his vindictive behavior began with his lawsuits against ABC News, CBS News, and the Des Moines Register. Examples of his wanton disregard for the press were amplified by his banishment of the Associated Press (AP) from the White House Press Pool.
Their crime? They have refused to acknowledge the administrations order to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. That he could do this at all is a travesty because the members of the press pool were usually chosen by the independent White House Correspondents’ Association. A judge has ruled that the White House had erred in their removal of the AP from the press area. The Trump Administration has so far not reinstated them.
And just recently, Leavitt has announced a change in the composition of the White House Press Corps. Instead of reinstating the AP, the White House announced that they were removing the independent wire services position from the daily press corps rotation altogether. In its place there will now be a spot for an additional print journalist. They are also adding a spot for one “new media” journalist, a newly created Trump Administration spot along with four photojournalists and other radio, TV, and streaming services. This will greatly limit White House access to organizations such as Reuters, Bloomberg, and of course, the AP.
More to Come
There are numerous other examples of Trump’s war on the press such as his recent announcement of the proposal to drastically cut the funding for NPR and PBS. There are also the daily insults levied at members of the press from Trump and his minions. I will cover all of this in another article.
