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President Trump And The Press

White House press Secretary Sean Spicer speaks during the daily White House briefing. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)
White House press Secretary Sean Spicer speaks during the daily White House briefing. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

In our 100 Day Spotlight:  President Trump and the press. He says it’s war. Journalists say they’re just out for truth. For facts. We dive in.

Candidate Donald Trump savaged the press on the campaign trail. On Saturday, President Trump brought the savaging to Washington. Stood at the CIA and called journalists “among the most dishonest people on earth.” His spokesman stood at the White House and told a series of whoppers about Inauguration Day. Next-day headlines screamed “falsehoods,” “lies,” from the White House. What a beginning! This hour On Point, President Trump and the press. He says it’s war. The press says ‘give us the facts.” — Tom Ashbrook

Guests

Edward-Isaac Dovere, chief Washington correspondent for POLITICO. (@IsaacDovere)

Jim Rutenberg, media columnist for the New York Times. (@jimrutenberg)

Mollie Hemingway, senior editor at the Federalist. (@MZHemingway)

From Tom’s Reading List

New York Times: ‘Alternative Facts’ and the Costs of Trump-Branded Reality — “There it was: an apparent animating principle of Mr. Trump’s news media strategy since he first began campaigning. That strategy has consistently presumed that low public opinion of mainstream journalism (which Mr. Trump has been only too happy to help stoke) creates an opening to sell the Trump version of reality, no matter its adherence to the facts.”

POLITICO: Could Trump’s ‘alternative facts’ put lives at risk? — “This weekend, it was crowd size. By next week, it could be how many troops were killed, and who was responsible for the attack. Or how successful the American response was. Or whether there is an actual threat to homeland security that requires government action. Or even a dispute with a foreign government over a sensitive detail in negotiations.”

The Federalist: 4 Recent Examples Show Why No One Trusts Media Coverage Of Trump — “Many members of the media would like to imagine themselves as brave heroes who will valiantly fight the excesses of the Trump administration. These examples show why people do not trust the media to tell the truth, much less hold anyone accountable for anything.”

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