He was not a very nice man by all accounts, but he was a very smart one. President Trump's comments on the media being the enemy of the American people, along with his constant attempts to delegitimize professional news media and control the flow of information, must have Jefferson spinning in his grave. Although he hated the press at times - as has every politician - Jefferson firmly believed in the importance of a free press which was not subject to government interest or control. Here are a few of the things Jefferson said about the press:
"...and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."
"I am ... for freedom of the press, and against all violations of the Constitution to silence by force and not by reason the complaints or criticisms, just or unjust, of our citizens against the conduct of their agents."
"The only security of all is in a free press. The force of public opinion cannot be resisted when permitted freely to be expressed. The agitation it produces must be submitted to. It is necessary, to keep the waters pure."
"No experiment can be more interesting than that we are now trying, and which we trust will end in establishing the fact, that man may be governed by reason and truth. Our first object should therefore be, to leave open to him all the avenues to truth.The most effectual hitherto found, is the freedom of the press. It is therefore, the first shut up by those who fear the investigation of their actions."
Trump has called the Washington Post and the NY Times -both recipients of multiple Pulitzers - "failing" newspapers. The reality is that they are both seeing record growth in subscriptions; if anything, Trump's attacks on legitimate news media has revitalized them as more people go to them for news. The TV news outlets he complains about are also seeing a rise in viewership.
The media made Donald Trump. He complains about it but still needs it to promote himself. You can poke the bear for just so long before it really starts swinging back - if you thought he's been getting bad press now, just wait. As Mark Twain said, never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel.
PS - to bagger, who I'm sure is reading this and seething, I will offer a quote from Monty Python: "I fart in your general direction". Don't like what I post? Don't read or respond to it. Problem solved. Please take your hatred somewhere else; the adults here want to have a conversation. |