„Trump’s message to the media (and I guess Democrats): If you criticize me, you’ll get more bombs,“ said Igor Volsky.<\/b>
\nLess than 12 hours after praising himself for being on his best behavior as bombs were found in the mail of several targets of his incendiary and conspiratorial ravings \u2014 including Congresswomen Maxine Waters, CNN, former President Barack Obama, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton \u2014 President Donald Trump cast aside his temporarily subdued facade Thursday morning and fired off a tweet blaming the media for the explosives sent to at least nine separate locations and warning that the press must \u201cclean up its act, fast.\u201d
\u201cThis tweet will go down in history as one of the moments in which everyone should have understood that the American democracy truly is at risk,\u201d Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council, wrote in response to Trump\u2019s latest attack on the press.
Political commentators and members of the American press immediately recognized that \u2014 far from mitigating the \u201canger\u201d that has \u201cgotten so bad and hateful\u201d \u2014 Trump\u2019s attempt to blame the media for pipe bombs being sent to the targets of his rhetoric could stoke further resentment and encourage even more violence against journalists.
\u201cTrump is arguing that the media itself is responsible for the bombs that were sent to it because it dared to criticize Trump. In other words: if you continue to criticize Trump your life will be in danger,\u201d noted Igor Volsky, director of the gun control advocacy group Guns Down America. \u201cHow is this not inviting further violence?\u201d
Trump\u2019s tweet and the swift backlash came just hours after over 200 retired journalists signed an open letter (pdf) condemning the president\u2019s continued attacks on the free press, highlighting as just one example his remarks last week praising Rep. Greg Gianforte (R-Mont.) for body-slamming Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs.
\u201cTrump\u2019s condoning of political violence is part of a sustained pattern of attack on a free press \u2014 which includes labeling any reportage he doesn\u2019t like as \u2018fake news\u2019 and barring reporters and news organizations whom he wishes to punish from press briefings and events,\u201d the former journalists wrote. \u201cThe president\u2026 is actively working not simply to undermine the press, but to incite violence against it as well.\u201d
Jake Johnson is a staff writer for Common Dreams. Follow him on Twitter: @johnsonjakep.
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