Sunday, January 22, 2017

Trump Threatens That Media Will Pay a 'Big Price' for 'Lying' About Inauguration Attendance


OK, how did I miss this blatant threat against my colleagues and me?

The Associated Press reports:
President Donald Trump is accusing the news media of lying about the size of the crowd that attended his inauguration. Addressing employees at CIA headquarters in Virginia, Trump wrongly said the crowd had stretched all the way to the Washington Monument in the middle of the National Mall.

Photos taken of the Mall on Friday showed large swaths of empty space compared to Barack Obama’s inauguration eight years ago.

Trump says the inauguration crowd looked to be about a million and a half people. (Spokesman Sean Spicer said it was "the largest" inauguration crowd in U.S. history.) The National Park Service doesn’t provide an official estimate, but such a figure is highly dubious. Other events that filled more of the Mall have not drawn a crowd of that size. He says the news media will pay a “big price” for what he claims was dishonesty.
So let me get this straight: the Second Amendment can have no boundaries whatsoever -- blow away all the kindergartners you want -- but the First Amendment can be shredded because a petulant child doesn't like the truth?


David Corn of Mother Jones is wondering where this is going, too. Trump stripped The Washington Post of its press credentials during the election. He publicly attacked a CNN reporter during his first press conference in office -- at one point threatening to have him thrown out. And now he's been in office less than 48 hours and he's already trying to intimidate news outlets with threats of retribution? 


I'm sorry, Mr. "President." But Sean Spicer and Kellyanne Conway are paid to be your lap dogs, but we're not. Still, with the general population's ignorance about the importance of the media, I'm not confident he won't continue to be able to run roughshod over us -- or worse.


UPDATE: Kellyanne Conaway just went on national television and used the Orwellian term "alternative facts." 


Dan Rather weighs in on these "not normal times."

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

no worries, kenneth, chuck todd took kellyanne to task this morning on meet the press, and it was great!

jaragon said...

Comrade Conway has been well trained by the KGB

swine said...

Jeez Kenny, are ya trying out for a spot alongside Rachel & Joy Reid? Keep it up. It's pretty awesome!