Trump labels media 'the opposition party' as newspapers push back en masse

President Donald Trump lashed out at the media Thursday morning, identifying the "fake news" as "the opposition party" on the same day that hundreds of newspapers nationwide printed editorials critical of the president's rhetoric towards the media. "THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA IS THE OPPOSITION PARTY. It is very bad for our Great Country....BUT WE ARE WINNING!" Trump wrote on Twitter Thursday. More than 350 news outlets published editorials Thursday denouncing the president's threats against the press. The call for the widespread rebuke of the president was spurred by The Boston Globe. "Journalists are not classified as fellow Americans, but rather 'The enemy of the people,'" the Boston Globe's editorial board wrote. "This relentless assault on the free press has dangerous consequences." The list of outlets publishing editorials refuting the president's claim that the press is "the enemy of the people" ranges from big-city newspapers like the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune to smaller ones like the Van Buren County Democrat and the Swift County Monitor-News. The president dug into the Globe's campaign further, saying the newspaper is "in collusion" with other publications for denouncing his insults. "The Boston Globe, which was sold to the the Failing New York Times for 1.3 BILLION DOLLARS (plus 800 million dollars in losses & investment), or 2.1 BILLION DOLLARS, was then sold by the Times for 1 DOLLAR. Now the Globe is in COLLUSION with other papers on free press. PROVE IT!" Trump tweeted. The Times in 2013 sold the Globe for $70 million. It was initially bought for $1.1 billion in 1993 by the Times. Trump continued to bash the press Thursday morning, claiming once again that the media does not report the truth and is instead "trying to hurt people." "There is nothing that I would want more for our Country than true FREEDOM OF THE PRESS," the president wrote online. "The fact is that the Press is FREE to write and say anything it wants, but much of what it says is FAKE NEWS, pushing a political agenda or just plain trying to hurt people. HONESTY WINS!" Trump has consistently railed against the media dating back to his presidential campaign, labeling outlets and reporters as "fake news" when they publish reporting critical of him or his administration. Animosity towards the press from the administration has spiked in recent weeks, marked most notably by the White House denying access to an open press event to a CNN reporter. At Trump's rallies, news organizations have begun to hire private security to protect their reporters from attendees, who often hurl insults at and heckle the press. source: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/08/16/trump-calls-media-fake-news-as-newspapers-push-back-against-claim-779555 #Headlines by: rmorin@politico.com (Rebecca Morin)

Original Post: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/08/16/trump-calls-media-fake-news-as-newspapers-push-back-against-claim-779555